.DIVERSITY  OF  laiMOtS 

HARVARD  UNIVERSITY  DURING  THE 
LAST  TWENTY-FIVE  YEARS 

1889-1914 

BY  ALFRED  CLAGHORN  POTTER 

Assistant  Librarian  of  Harvard  College 

[Reprinted  from  the  Twenty-fifth  Anniversary  Report 
of  the  Class  of  1889] 


Buildings  in  Red  have  been  erected  since  1889 


A Craigie  Hall  (1897) 

B Trinity  Hall  (1893) 

C Read's  Block 
D Drayton  Hall  (1902) 

E Dana  Chambers  ( 1897) 
F Little  s HaU  (1854) 

G Dunster  Hall  (1897) 

H Manter  Hall  (1882) 

I Apley  Court  (1897) 


KEY 

J Ridgely  Hall  (1904) 

K Fairfax  Hall 
L Claverly  Hall 
M Randolph  HaU  (1897) 
N Apthorp  House 
O A.  D.  Club 
P Hampden  HaU  (1902) 
Q Russell  Hall  (1900) 


R VVestmorly  Court  (1898) 
S Quincy  HaU 
T Beck  HaU  (1876) 

U Brentford  HaU  (1900) 

V Ware  Hall  (1894) 

W President’s  House 

X Hasty  Pudding  Club 

Y Lampoon  Building 


R Westmorly  Court  (1898) 
S Quincy  Hall 
T Beck  HaH  (1876) 

U Brentford  Hall  (1900) 

V Ware  Hall  (1894) 

W President’s  House 

X Hasty  Pudding  Club 

Y Lampoon  Building 


THE  CHANGES  AT  HARVARD  IN 
TWENTY-FIVE  YEARS  (1889-1914) 

BY  ALFRED  CLAGHORN  POTTER 

Assistant  Librarian  of  Harvard  College 


“Say  not  thou:  what  is  the  cause  that  the  former  days  were  better  than 
these?  For  thou  dost  not  enquire  wisely  concerning  them 

Ecclesiastes  VII , 10. 


“Amongst  human  conditions,  this  is  very  common,  viz:  to  be  better  pleased 
with  strange  things  than  our  own,  and  to  love  motion  and  change 

Montaigne  “Of  Vanity  ” 


1 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2017  with  funding  from 

University  of  Illinois  Urbana-Champaign  Alternates 


/ 


https://archive.org/details/changesatharvard00pott_0 

i 


4 Vtf 


THE  CHANGES  AT  HARVARD  IN 
TWENTY-FIVE  YEARS  (1889-1914) 


To  record  the  history  and  progress  of  Harvard  University 
even  for  a period  of  twenty-five  years  is  no  light  task. 
Much  has  happened  at  Harvard  since  we  graduated  a quarter- 
century  ago.  It  has  been  a period  of  growth  and  expansion; 
the  following  pages  are  an  attempt  to  set  forth  the  story  of  the 
changes  that  have  taken  place.  No  one  can  realize  more 
keenly  than  the  writer  its  shortcomings ; but  to  tell  the  full  tale 
of  the  growth  of  Harvard  since  1889  in  the  space  allotted  me 
by  our  Secretary  was  impossible.  Much  that  was  of  interest 
and  of  real  significance  I have  had  to  omit  altogether  and 
much  more  to  touch  all  too  briefly.  And  at  the  beginning 
let  me  state  that  this  sketch  would  not  have  been  undertaken 
and  could  not  have  been  carried  even  to  a reasonable  degree 
of  completeness  had  I not  had  the  kind  permission  of  Mr. 
William  C.  Lane,  Librarian  of  Harvard  College,  to  make  free 
use  of  the  record  he  prepared  in  1906  for  the  Twenty-fifth 
Anniversary  Report  of  the  Class  of  1881.  Not  only  has  his 
account  served  as  a model  for  the  present  paper,  but  from 
it  verbatim  quotations  have  been  freely  made.  To  him 
the  thanks  of  the  Class  are  due. 

Statistics  of  Growth.  The  growth  of  the  University  in  size 
is  what  strikes  one  first.  Here  is  a comparison  of  the  figures 
for  our  senior  year  and  the  current  year. 


1 


IP 

i; 


Officers : 

Professors 
Associate  professors 
Assistant  professors 
Lecturers 
Tutors 
Associates 
Instructors 
Teaching  fellows 
Demonstrators  and  assistants 
Preachers 

Curators  and  library  assistants 
Business  officers,  proctors,  etc. 

Total 


1888-89 

1913-14 

70 

141 

9 

20 

86 

4 

78 

3 

7 

67 

239 

76 

34 

203 

5 

5 

10 

48 

32 

66 

245 

920 

Class  of  Eighty  Nine 


Students : 

College 

1888-89 

1913-14 

Seniors 

210 

369 

Juniors 

252 

583 

Sophomores 

264 

619 

Freshmen 

309 

619 

Specials 

145 

26 

Unclassified  and  out  of  course 

143 

Total 

1180 

2359 

Graduate  department 

95 

Graduate  School  of  Arts  and  Sciences 

497 

Scientific  School 

35 

Graduate  School  of  Applied  Science 
Graduate  School  of  Business  Adminis- 

139 

tration 

113 

Divinity  School 

26 

57 

Law  School 

217 

695 

Medical  School 

275 

310 

Dental  School 

42 

196 

Veterinary  School 

23 

Bussey  Institution 

6 

Summer  Schools 

168 

1250 

University  Extension 

10 

School  for  Health  Officers 

8 

Total 

2067 

5407 

From  the  totals  in  the  above  table  certain  deductions  have  been 
made  for  names  registered  in  more  than  one  department. 

The  above  table  shows  the  great  increase  in  numbers  that 
the  University  has  made  since  our  day;  the  number  of 
officers  is  almost  four  times  as  many  as  it  was;  the  number 
of  undergraduates  has  doubled;  and  the  whole  number  of 
students  enrolled  in  all  departments  is  over  two  and  a half 
times  as  many  as  there  were  twenty-five  years  ago.  But 
the  table  also  indicates  the  changes  that  have  been  taking 
place  in  the  organization  of  the  University.  The  old  Grad- 
uate Department  that  was  a mere  appendage  to  the  College 


4 


Changes  at  Harvard,  1889-1914 


has  developed  into  the  flourishing  Graduate  School  of  Arts 
and  Sciences;  the  Scientific  School  has  become  the  Graduate 
School  of  Applied  Science;  and  there  has  been  established 
the  Graduate  School  of  Business  Administration.  On  the 
other  hand  the  Veterinary  School,  after  a struggling  exist- 
ence of  eighteen  years,  was  given  up  for  lack  of  funds  in  1901. 

Changes  in  the  Faculty.  Comparatively  few  of  the  men  who 
were  officers  of  the  University  twenty-five  years  ago  are  in 
active  service  today.  The  Corporation  is  an  entirely  new 
body.  On  the  present  Board  of  Overseers  Henry  Cabot 
Lodge  is  the  only  one  who  was  a member  then.  Out  of  the 
College  Faculty  of  1889  only  twenty  are  on  the  Faculty  of 
Arts  and  Sciences  of  to-day.  These  are,  in  the  order  of 
seniority,  Farlow,  Emerton,  Lanman,  Mark,  Sheldon,  Briggs, 
Francke,  Hall,  Lyon,  Royce,  C.  P.  Parker,  Wendell,  Chan- 
ning,  Taussig,  Wolff,  Hart,  Kittredge,  Grandgent,  Baker, 
G.  H.  Parker.  Besides  these,  there  are  still  living,  but  no 
longer  in  active  service:  Professors  Toy,  C.  J.  White,  Good- 
ale,  Charles  H.  Moore,  Palmer,  Trowbridge,  Jackson,  de 
Sumichrast,  J.  W.  White,  Davis,  Peabody,  Byerly,  Hills, 
Cohn,  and  Sanderson.  The  Faculty  of  the  Law  School  has 
changed  entirely. 

But  the  greatest  change  of  all  came  with  the  resignation 
of  President  Eliot  in  1909.  Just  half  of  the  forty  years  of 
his  administration  falls  within  the  period  of  this  sketch,  and 
it  is  the  half  that  marks  the  fruition  of  his  plans  for  the 
development  and  betterment  of  the  Universtiy.  Nowhere 
has  a better  or  truer  account  of  Harvard’s  debt  to  Eliot 
been  written  than  that  by  our  classmate  Ropes  in  an  article 
contributed  to  the  Cyclopedia  of  Education.  With  his  per- 
mission I quote  it: 

“President  Eliot  was  able  by  his  foresight,  breadth  of  interest,  and 
skill  in  organization  and  administration,  by  his  single-minded  devotion 
to  high  aims,  and  by  the  dignity  of  his  personal  character,  to  use  the 
new  forces  of  the  time,  command  innumerable  gifts  aggregating  a great 
sum  of  money,  and  hold  the  enthusiastic  loyalty  of  a rapidly  increasing 
and  able  staff.  In  the  forty  years  of  his  presidency  he  was  able  to  see 
Harvard  widely  extend  the  borders  of  its  work,  quadruple  in  number  of 
students,  and  establish  its  position  as  a great  national  university,  in- 
fluential throughout  America  and  honored  beyond  the  seas.  His 
efforts  were  especially  devoted  to  the  complete  application  of  the 


5 


Class  of  Eighty  Nine 


elective  principle  in  undergraduate  studies,  the  maintenance  of  strict 
standards  in  examinations  for  entrance  and  graduation,  the  inclusion 
of  all  branches  of  knowledge  and  the  arts  in  the  opportunities  offered 
to  students,  the  development  of  courses  of  graduate  study  in  the  liberal 
arts  and  sciences,  the  requirement  of  a college  degree  for  admission  to 
the  professional  schools,  and  the  insistence  on  the  highest  scientific 
ideals  in  all  the  graduate  and  professional  departments.  His  adminis- 
tration deliberately  followed  the  principle  of  freedom  as  a moral  force 
in  the  methods  of  student  discipline  and  in  the  regulation  of  the  under- 
graduate curriculum;  and  was  conspicuous  for  firmness,  generosity,  and 
justice  in  the  treatment  of  the  faculties  and  officers  of  instruction.” 


Abbott  Lawrence  Lowell,  ’77,  was  chosen  to  succeed 
President  Eliot  and  was  inaugurated  with  appropriate  and 
impressive  ceremonies  in  October,  1909.  Of  his  adminis- 
tration it  is  not  the  place  to  speak  here  in  detail.  Many  of 
the  changes  of  the  last  four  years,  mentioned  elsewhere  in 
this  report,  as  for  example,  the  new  admission  plan,  the 
modification  in  the  elective  system,  the  Freshman  Dormi- 
tories, and  the  merger  with  the  Institute  of  Technology,  are 
the  direct  result  of  his  broad  and  aggressive  policy. 

Finances.  The  resources  of  the  University  have  increased 
enormously  in  the  twenty-five  years  under  review.  In  1889 
the  investments  of  the  University  amounted  to  about 
$6,874,000;  in  1913,  the  corresponding  figures  were  well 
over  $27,500,000,  to  which  a considerable  sum  will  be  added 
in  the  current  year  (1913-14).  Gifts  to  the  University,  some 
to  establish  funds,  some  for  immediate  expenditure,  have 
been  as  follows  in  successive  five-year  periods: — 


1889-1894  (five  years) 
1894-1899  “ 

1899-1904  “ 

1904-1909  “ 

1909-1913  (four  years) 


$ 1,859,305 
3,642,574 
6,152,988 
8,608,643 
6,573,808 


Total  (twenty-four  years)  $26,837,318 

The  average  amount  of  the  gifts  to  the  University  during 
the  last  five  years  has  been  over  a million  and  three-quarters 
a year.  With  this  constantly  increasing  stream  of  wealth 
poured  into  her  lap,  it  seems  at  first  sight  absurd  for  our  Alma 
Mater  to  plead  poverty,  and  to  be  harrassed  by  constantly 


6 


Changes  at  Harvard,  1889-1914 


recurring  “deficits.”  But  a careful  examination  of  the  in- 
dividual gifts  shows  that  it  is  only  rarely  that  the  resulting 
income  can  be  used  for  general  purposes  or  even  at  the  dis- 
cretion of  the  Corporation  for  necessary  improvements  or 
enlargements  of  work.  Most  gifts  are  for  a specific  purpose, 
generally  a new  purpose,  and  not  infrequently  require  the 
appropriation  by  the  Corporation  of  additional  sums  to  carry 
these  purposes  into  effect.  A new  building  is  given  to  the 
College,  and  the  College  has  to  find  the  means  to  heat,  light, 
and  clean  it,  and  keep  it  in  repair.  A sum  of  money  is  given 
to  the  Library  to  buy  books,  but  the  College  has  to  bear 
the  expense  of  cataloguing  the  books  and  placing  them  in 
order  on  the  shelves.  A great  help  towards  increasing  the 
unrestricted  income  of  the  College  will  come  from  the 
Twenty-fifth  Anniversary  funds  established  by  the  various 
Classes.  Our  own  will  be  the  tenth  of  these  funds  to  be 
paid  in  to  the  Treasurer.  As  each  fund  is  about  one  hun- 
dred thousand  dollars,  the  College  has  gained  through  these 
anniversary  gifts  an  addition  to  its  principal  of  about  $1,000,- 
000,  and  an  added  free  income  of  nearly  $50,000  a year. 
The  total  net  income  of  the  University  for  1912-1913,  ex- 
cluding the  unexpended  balances  of  gifts  for  new  buildings, 
was  $2,657,546;  of  this  $1,274,000  ^as  interest  on  invested 
funds,  and  $876,000  from  fees  and  rents  from  students. 

In  spite  of  these  generous  gifts  with  the  resultant  great 
additions  to  the  University’s  invested  property  and  of  the 
increased  income  received  annually  from  tuition  fees,  the 
needs  of  the  University  are  constantly  in  excess  of  its  re- 
sources. Year  by  year  the  necessary  cost  of  running  the 
University  increases,  in  spite  of  rigid  economy  and  “inex- 
pedient frugality.”  Each  year  for  the  last  fifteen  years,  with 
only  three  exceptions,  has  shown  a deficit,  varying  from 
$14,750  in  1911-12  to  $59,261  in  1905-06.  These  deficits, 
amounting  to  a total  of  over  $380,000,  have  been  paid  out 
of  the  principal  of  certain  unrestricted  funds,  thus  reducing 
by  that  amount  the  invested  capital  of  the  University. 

The  exact  meaning  of  the  term  “deficit”  should  be  under- 
stood. Each  professional  school  and  each  institution  con- 
nected with  the  University  has  its  own  separate  income, 
derived  from  its  own  students  and  from  its  own  invested 


Class  of  Eighty  Nine 


capital.  A part  of  this  income  is  restricted  to  special  uses 
(such  as  the  support  of  a scholarship,  or  printing,  or  books), 
the  remainder  is  unrestricted.  If  in  any  year  the  payments 
for  salaries,  administration,  and  general  expenses  exceed 
the  income  available  for  those  purposes,  there  is  a deficit 
which  has  to  be  made  up  by  advances  from  the  University 
(unless  the  Department  already  has  a credit  balance),  and 
upon  these  advances  interest  is  charged.  If  there  is  a sur- 
plus, it  remains  in  the  hands  of  the  University,  is  credited 
to  the  Department  which  has  earned  it,  and  draws  interest 
until  it  is  extinguished  by  deficits.  The  affairs  of  the  Col- 
lege, the  Library,  and  the  Graduate  School  of  Arts  and 
Sciences  are  so  closely  interwoven  that  no  attempt  is  made  to 
separate  their  accounts.  With  these  are  combined  certain 
general  University  charges,  such  as  retiring  allowances, 
salaries  of  general  administrative  officers,  and  the  support 
in  part  of  the  Museums,  Appleton  Chapel,  and  Phillips 
Brooks  House.  It  is  in  this  combined  account  of  University, 
College,  Graduate  School  of  Arts  and  Sciences,  Library, 
etc.,  that  the  deficits  have  occurred  which  have  hampered 
the  administration  of  the  University.  Other  departments, 
like  the  Law  School,  may  show  handsome  surpluses  from  year 
to  year,  but  this  does  not  help  out  the  College. 

New  Buildings.  The  “plant”  of  the  University  has  also 
grown  greatly.  In  lands,  it  has  acquired  the  Soldiers  Field, 
of  about  forty  acres  in  Allston;  the  Harvard  Forest,  of  two 
thousand  acres  in  Petersham,  Mass.;  and  the  Engineering 
Camp,  of  about  seven  hundred  acres  at  Squam  Lake,  N.  H., 
and  several  small  estates  and  pieces  of  land  near  the  College 
Yard.  Since  1889,  there  have  been  erected  by  or  for  the  Uni- 
versity some  thirty-five  new  buildings.  The  accompanying 
map  shows  the  extent  of  these  building  operations.  Their 
approximate  total  cost  is  nearly  ten  million  dollars.  If  to 
this  be  added  the  cost  of  a dozen  private  dormitories  and  a 
number  of  student  clubhouses,  some  idea  may  be  formed 
of  the  material  growth  of  Harvard  in  this  quarter  century. 
Most  of  these  new  buildings  are  spoken  of  elsewhere  in  this 
report;  among  those  not  referred  to  may  be  mentioned: 
three  dormitories,  Walter  Hastings,  Perkins,  and  Conant 
Halls;  Emerson  Hall,  the  home  of  the  Philosophical  Depart- 


8 


Changes  at  Harvard,  1889-1914 


ment;  the  New  Lecture  Hall;  the  new  Chemical  Labora- 
tories; the  High  Tension  Laboratory;  the  Music  Building, 
and  the  new  President’s  House. 

The  Administration  of  the  University.  This  growth  of  the 
University  has  necessitated  many  changes  in  the  methods  of 
administration  and  the  creation  of  new  officers  and  new 
boards.  Among  the  latter  is  the  Resident  Executive  Board, 
composed  of  the  President,  the  Comptroller,  the  Bursar,  the 
Regent,  the  Secretaries  to  the  Corporation,  the  Inspector 
of  Grounds  and  Buildings,  the  Assistant  Dean,  and  the 
Secretary  for  Student  Employment.  This  board  deals  with 
matters  touching  the  maintenance  and  improvement  of 
grounds,  buildings,  and  equipment,  methods  of  accounting 
and  administration,  the  method  of  assigning  rooms  to  stu- 
dents, dormitory  rents,  and  other  matters  referred  to  it,  and 
it  is  expected  to  keep  the  Corporation  informed  on  all  the 
questions  which  affect  the  business  administration  of  the 
University. 

With  the  increase  in  its  membership  the  Faculty  had  to 
find  new  methods  of  doing  its  work.  Too  large  to  act  easily 
on  details  of  routine,  it  has  delegated  much  of  its  power  to 
three  small  Administrative  Boards,  one  for  each  of  the  de- 
partments under  its  care.  It  is  also  effectively  organized 
in  divisions,  and  some  of  the  divisions  are  subdivided  into 
departments,  each  division  or  department  consisting  of 
teachers  engaged  in  the  same  or  similar  fields.  This  makes 
a group  of  efficient  working  units,  each  responsible  for  plans 
connected  with  rts  own  interests,  for  the  direction  of  the  work 
of  its  own  students,  and  for  recommending  to  the  Corpora- 
tion the  appointment  of  the  assistants  and  instructors 
in  its  own  field. 

Admission  Requirements.  Many  changes  have  been  made 
in  the  requirements  for  admission  to  the  College;  these  have 
been  in  two  directions:  first,  toward  allowing  a greater  num- 
ber of  subjects  to  count  as  suitable  tests  of  fitness;  and, 
second,  “that  the  college  should  be  more  accessible  to  grad- 
uates of  public  high  schools  in  all  parts  of  the  country”,  i.e., 
such  schools  as  do  not  make  a business  of  preparing  boys 
for  college  examinations.  With  these  two  ends  in  view  there 
are  now  in  effect  two  methods  of  entering  Harvard,  known 


9 


Class  of  Eighty  Nine 


to  the  initiated  as  the  “Old  Plan”  and  the  “New  Plan.”  To 
be  admitted  to  the  Freshman  Class  under  the  former  a 
candidate  must  present  himself  for  examination  in  certain 
studies,  amounting  to  not  less  than  sixteen  and  one-half 
“units”  of  school  work.  Prescribed  studies  for  entrance  are 
English,  counting  three  units,  and  on  which,  by  the  way, 
much  greater  stress  is  laid  than  in  the  past;  either  Ele- 
mentary Greek  or  Elementary  Latin  (two  and  three  units 
respectively) ; either  Elementary  French  or  German  (two 
units  ea*ch) ; any  one  of  Ancient,  European,  English,  or 
American  History  (one  unit  each) ; Elementary  Algebra  (one 
and  one-half  units);  and  one  unit  chosen  from  among  the 
following  subjects:  Physics,  Chemistry,  Geography,  Botany 
or  Zoology.  In  addition  to  these  prescribed  studies,  a 
candidate  must  make  up  the  necessary  number  of  units  by 
offering  himself  in  certain  “advanced”  subjects,— Greek, 
Latin,  French,  German,  History,  Algebra;  or  he  can  get  half 
a unit  each  from  Freehand  Drawing,  Projection  Drawing, 
and  Civil  Government.  And  if  the  boy  is  a candidate  for 
the  degree  of  S.B.  he  can  obtain  half  a point  for  Blacksmith- 
ing,  or  for  “Chipping,  Filing,  and  Fitting.”  On  the  other 
hand  one  concession  has  been  made  to  the  classicists,  in 
that  a candidate  who  presents  both  Elementary  Latin  and 
Element ary#  Greek  is  admitted  on  fifteen  and  one-half  units. 
Those  of  us  who  remember  the  requirements  for  admission 
in  1885  will  realize  that  the  change  has  been  very  marked; 
but  the  “New  Plan”  is  still  more  revolutionary.  Briefly 
stated,  by  this  new  method  a candidate  is  admitted  on 
presentation  of  evidence  of  an  approved  school  course  satis- 
factorily completed,  and  on  passing  four  examinations  showing 
that  his  scholarship  is  of  a satisfactory  character.  The 
nature  of  the  new  plan  and  how  it  differs  from  the  old  may 
perhaps  be  best  given  in  the  words  of  President  Lowell  in 
his  Annual  Report  for  1910-1911:  “The  new  requirement 
differs  essentially  from  the  other  in  character  and  in  aim. 
The  old  examinations  are  designed  to  test  all  the  secondary 
school  work  done,  and  can  be  taken  a few  at  a time,  an 
examination  being  passed  on  each  piece  of  work  when  com- 
pleted. The  system  is  one  of  checking  off  studies  and  accu- 
mulating credits.  The  new  requirement  is  an  attempt  to 


10 


Changes  at  Harvard,  1889-1914 


measure,  not  the  quantity  of  work  done,  but  the  intellectual 
state  of  the  boy ; a certificate  being  accepted  for  the  quantity 
of  his  school  work,  and  examinations  being  held  on  sample 
subjects  to  test  the  quality  of  his  scholarship.  . . To  be 
admitted  to  examination  a boy  must  present  a statement 
from  his  school  of  the  studies  he  has  pursued,  and  these 
must  be  the  content  of  a good  secondary  school  course  de- 
voted mainly  to  academic  subjects.  Four  subjects  must 
then  be  offered  for  examination,  and  must  be  offered  at  the 
same  time.  One  of  them  must  be  English;  another  must  be 
Latin  or  Greek,  if  the  student  is  to  be  a candidate  for  the 
degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts,  but  may  be  a modern  language 
in  the  case  of  a candidate  for  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of 
Science;  the  third  must  be  Mathematics,  or  Physics  or 
Chemistry  (the  reason  for  the  option  being  the  difficulty 
that  some  intelligent  boys  find  in  doing  themselves  justice 
in  an  examination  in  Mathematics) ; and  the  fourth  may  be 
any  subject  of  an  academic  character,  not  already  offered, 
that  the  boy  may  select.  As  these  are  sample  examinations 
covering  subjects  which  are  of  primary  importance  or  in 
which  the  candidate  feels  most  confident,  they  must  be  passed 
well.  But  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  object  is  to 
discover  whether  the  boy  is  fit  for  college  work,  not  to 
measure  his  proficiency  in  particular  studies/’  That  this 
new  plan,  which  was  only  adopted  in  1911,  is  working  satis- 
factorily seems  to  be  shown  by  the  fact  that  boys  are  coming 
to  College  from  schools  that  had  never  presented  candidates 
before  and  that  those  admitted  are  proving  their  fitness  by 
holding  good  rank  in  the  college  courses.  About  a third  of 
the  present  Freshman  class  were  admitted  under  these  new 
requirements. 

There  is  one  other  way  now  of  entering  Harvard,  and  that 
is  through  the  examinations  held  by  the  College  Entrance 
Examination  Board.  This  Board,  supported  by  the  princi- 
pal colleges,  has  achieved  something  like  a uniform  statement 
of  the  requirements  in  each  subject  for  most  colleges  through- 
out the  country,  and  holds  uniform  examinations  at  a great 
number  of  different  points,  the  results  of  which  are  accepted 
by  colleges.  In  June,  1904*  Harvard  became  a member  of 
this  Board;  and  since  1906  the  Board  examinations  have 


11 


Class  of  Eighty  Nine 


been  accepted  in  all  subjects.  This  simplifies  the  problems 
of  the  secondary  schools,  where  special  courses  have  often 
had  to  be  provided  for  the  Harvard  candidates,  and  opens 
the  way  for  many  boys  to  come  to  Harvard  who  have  been 
prevented  from  so  doing  by  lack  of  opportunity  to  secure  the 
necessary  training. 

Instruction.  The  elective  system,  which  went  into  full  effect 
just  before  our  entrance  when  most  of  the  studies  of  the 
Freshman  year  were  made  elective,  has  always  been  anxiously 
watched  by  the  Faculty.  While  as  a whole  the  system  was 
satisfactory,  yet  it  was  felt  that  certain  grave  dangers  were 
inherent  in  any  system  that  gave  to  the  undergraduate  a 
practically  unlimited  and  unguided  choice  of  his  college 
studies.  While  probably  the  majority  of  students  chose 
wisely,  there  were  always  some  whose  choice  showed  neither 
serious  thought  nor  consistent  purpose.  There  was  the  danger 
on  the  one  hand,  of  the  student  not  devoting  enough  time  to 
one  subject  to  master  anything  thoroughly,  and,  on  the 
other  hand,  of  his  concentrating  too  much  in  some  one  field 
with  the  result  that  at  graduation  he  was  entirely  ignorant 
of  many  subjects  and  without  a broad  intellectual  outlook. 
To  remedy  these  defects,  a scheme  for  the  modification  of 
the  elective  system  was  drawn  up  and  put  into  operation  in 
1910.  Stated  broadly,  this  new  plan  is  one  of  concentration 
and  distribution  of  studies.  To  reach  this  end  the  courses 
open  to  undergraduates  were  divided  into  four  general  groups, 
as  follows:  (1)  Language,  literature,  fine  arts,  and  music; 
(2)  Natural  sciences;  (3)  History,  political  and  social  sci- 
ences; (4)  Philosophy  and  mathematics.  Each  student  is 
required  to  take  at  least  six  of  his  courses  in  one  of  these 
groups;  that  is  to  this  extent  at  least  he  must  concentrate 
his  work.  Six  more  of  his  courses  he  must  distribute  among 
the  other  three  groups.  The  four  remaining  courses  out  of 
the  sixteen  required  for  a degree,  the  student  is  at  liberty  to 
take  in  the  subject  in  which  he  is  concentrating  or  in  such 
other  subjects  as  he  wishes.  At  the  end  of  his  Freshman 
year  each  student  is  required  to  discuss  with  his  adviser  a 
programme  of  study  for  the  rest  of  his  college  course,  not 
specifiying,  indeed,  the  exact  courses  he  intends  to  take, 
but  stating  the  group  in  which  he  means  to  concentrate,  and 


12 


Changes  at  Harvard,  1889-1914 


the  general  plan  for  distribution  of  the  rest  of  his  work. 
While  this  new  scheme  has  not  been  in  effect  long  enough 
for  a thorough  test,  there  seems  to  be  little  doubt  that  it  is 
an  improvement  over  the  older  more  haphazard  method. 
It  is  of  interest  to  note  that  of  these  general  groups  for  con- 
centration, that  covering  history  and  economics  is  by  far 
the  most  popular.  The  group  of  language  and  literature 
follows  second  in  popularity.  Of  individual  subjects  for 
concentration  economics  is  far  in  the  lead,  followed  by 
engineering  (chosen  of  course  by  students  who  are  to  enter 
that  profession),  Romance  languages,  and  English.  Com- 
paratively few  men  are  inclined  to  specialize  in  either  the 
Classics  or  mathematics. 

Possibly  one  of  the  causes  of  the  modification  of  the 
elective  system  outlined  in  the  above  paragraph  is  to  be 
sought  in  the  great  increase  in  the  number  of  courses  and 
the  consequent  larger  opportunity  and  responsibility  of 
choice.  In  our  senior  year,  there  were  offered  to  us  two 
hundred  and  twelve  courses,  of  which  one  hundred  and 
forty-four  were  rated  as  full  courses  and  the  rest  as  half- 
courses. The  Catalogue  for  1913-1914  offers  the  student 
of  today  nearly  six  hundred  courses,  of  which  about  one 
hundred  and  eighty  are  counted  as  full  courses,  and  the  rest 
as  half-courses.  It  may  be  noted  that  while  twenty-five 
years  ago  the  number  of  half-courses  was  less  than  one- 
third  of  the  total,  today  they  comprise  over  two-thirds  of 
the  number  of  courses  offered.  The  scope  of  instruction 
has  naturally  widened  very  greatly  since  we  were  in  College. 
Courses  in  the  Celtic  and  Slavic  languages,  in  comparative 
literature,  in  education,  in  astronomy,  and  in  anthropology 
represent  some  of  the  new  departments  of  study. 

The  Three  Years’  Course.  It  was  while  we  were  in  College 
that  the  campaign  for  the  reduction  of  the  college  course 
from  four  to  three  years  began;  but  after  much  discussion 
the  plan  was  defeated  in  1891.  Since  then,  by  a series  of 
natural  developments,  such  as  the  abolition  of  much  of  the 
prescribed  work  of  the  Freshman  year,  the  reduction  of  the 
number  of  required  courses  to  sixteen,  new  rules  in  regard 
to  the  anticipation  of  prescribed  English,  and  the  increased 
number  and  importance  of  half-courses,  it  has  become  not 


13 


Class  of  Eighty  Nine 


uncommon  for  students  to  take  their  A.B.  or  S.B.  at  the 
end  of  three  or  three  and  a half  years.  It  is  not  difficult 
for  a boy  of  good  ability  to  do  this  by  taking  one  or  two 
extra  courses  a year.  To  meet  the  needs  of  those  who  finish 
their  work  in  three  and  a half  years  and  want  to  leave  the 
College,  degrees  are  now  conferred  in  the  middle  of  the  year 
but  without  any  public  ceremony.  For  some  years  the 
number  of  students  thus  voluntarily  shortening  their  col- 
lege course  showed  a steady  increase;  it  has  decreased 
somewhat  in  the  last  year  or  two. 

Exchange  Professors.  The  exchange  of  professors  with  other 
universities  has  been  one  of  the  interesting  developments 
of  the  last  ten  years.  The  plan  originated  in  the  series  of 
lectures  given  at  Harvard  for  a number  of  years  by  French 
professors  or  writers  through  the  generosity  of  Mr.  James 
Hazen  Hyde,  ’98.  In  1904,  Mr.  Hyde  conceived  the  idea  of 
sending  an  American  professor  to  lecture  in  the  French 
universities,  and  again  generously  supported  this  scheme. 
A year  later  a more  formal  arrangement  for  the  interchange 
of  professors  was  made  with  the  University  of  Berlin.  A 
more  recent  agreement  for  an  exchange  has  been  made  with 
four  Western  colleges,  Beloit  College  (Beloit,  Wis.),  Colorado 
College  (Colorado  Springs,  Col.),  Grinnell  College  (Grinnell, 
Iowa),  and  Knox  College,  (Galesburg,  111.);  under  this  plan 
Harvard  sends  one  of  its  professors  for  a half-year  to 
spend  a month  at  each  of  these  colleges,  giving  regular 
instruction  to  the  students;  and  each  college  may  send 
to  Cambridge  for  half  a year  one  of  its  instructors,  who 
will  give  a third  of  his  time  to  teaching,  and  spend  the  rest 
in  study  or  research.  The  men  who  have  represented  Har- 
vard in  these  exchanges  are:  in  France,  Professors  Wendell, 
Santayana,  Coolidge,  Baker,  Bliss  Perry,  Schofield,  Davis, 
Wilson,  Maxime  Bocher;  in  Germany,  Peabody,  Richards, 
Schofield,  Davis,  George  F.  Moore,  Munsterberg,  Theobald 
Smith,  Minot,  Coolidge;  at  the  four  Western  colleges,  Hart, 
Palmer,  Clifford  H.  Moore. 

The  Appointment  Offices.  A larger  number  of  students  than 
the  outside  public  can  realize  need  to  earn  money  to  pay  part 
or  all  of  their  expenses  while  in  College.  To  help  such  men 
find  work,  the  College  maintains  the  Office  for  Student 


14 


Changes  at  Harvard,  1889-1914 


Employment.  The  report  of  the  secretary  for  employment 
shows  that  in  the  aggregate  students  in  the  University  earned 
last  year  not  less  than  $184,643,  one-half  of  which  was  ob- 
tained by  work  found  for  them  through  his  office.  The 
temporary  occupations  of  the  students  thus  employed  (there 
were  554  positions  filled  in  the  year  1912-13)  are  of  a most 
varied  nature.  Undergraduates,  either  during  term-time 
or  in  the  summer  vacation,  found  places  as  ticket-takers 
and  tutors,  as  camp  councillors  and  choremen,  and  so  on 
through  a list  of  some  seventy  different  kinds  of  work.  But 
the  effort  of  Harvard  to  help  its  students  to  find  employment 
does  not  stop  on  Commencement  Day,  for  there  are  two 
offices  whose  function  is  to  aid  graduates  in  obtaining  perma- 
nent positions.  These  are  the  Harvard  Alumni  Association 
Appointment  Office  (50  State  St.,  Boston)  and  the  University 
Office  for  Recommendation  of  Teachers.  The  former  en- 
deavors to  place  men  in  suitable  business  and  technical 
positions,  while  the  latter,  as  its  name  indicates,  is  chiefly 
concerned  with  placing  men  who  seek  teaching  or  educational 
administrative  offices.  Figures  have  recently  been  compiled 
for  1912-13,  showing  that  the  Alumni  Office  filled  99  posi- 
tions, and  the  Faculty  Office  40.  The  holders  of  129  of  these 
139  positions  have  reported  their  salaries  amounting  in  all 
to  $125,793,  an  average  of  $975.  Of  the  ninety-nine  posi- 
tions filled  by  the  Alumni  Office,  three  were  in  banking 
and  brokerage,  four  in  engineering,  two  in  insurance,  fifty- 
six  in  manufacturing,  six  in  journalism,  ten  in  mercantile  busi- 
ness, six  in  public  service  corporations,  one  in  real  estate  and 
management  and  six  in  secretaryships.  Of  the  forty  posi- 
tions filled  by  the  Faculty  Office,  twenty-four  were  by  the 
Graduate  School  of  Applied  Science,  eight  by  the  Graduate 
School  of  Business  Administration,  five  by  the  chemistry 
division,  and  three  by  the  social  ethics  department. 

These  offices  are  different  from  most  organizations  of  their 
kinds  in  that  their  services  are  free  alike  to  employers  and  to 
Harvard  men  seeking  positions,  and,  moreover,  they  have 
the  reputation  of  telling  inquirers  justly  and  frankly  about 
the  men  recommended.  They  desire  to  serve  not  only  men 
just  leaving  College  and  seeking  their  first  positions,  but  also 
those  who  are  looking  for  promotion.  The  Alumni  Associa- 


15 


Class  of  Eighty  Nine 


tion  Office  should  be  better  known  to  employers  by  reason 
of  its  facilities  for  sending  good  men  into  manufacturing  and 
mercantile  houses;  graduates  all  over  the  country  who  have 
the  responsibility  of  appointing  subordinates  can  get  such 
men  recommended  to  them,  and  at  the  same  time  serve  the 
College,  by  making  it  their  custom  to  apply  for  assistance 
to  this  Office. 

STUDENT  LIFE 

The  Harvard  Union.  A great  change  in  student  life  was  wrought 
by  the  establishment,  in  1900,  of  the  Harvard  Union.  The 
building,  the  gift  of  Mr.  Henry  Lee  Higginson,  contains  all 
the  conveniences  of  a well-appointed  club,  except  those  for 
selling  liquor.  It  not  only  offers  a convenient  rendezvous 
for  social  diversion,  but  it  also  affords  an  opportunity  to  get 
the  daily  news  from  almost  every  city  in  the  United  States 
through  its  newspapers,  while  a large  number  of  the  best 
magazines  of  the  day  are  kept  on  file.  In  the  library 
on  the  second  floor  may  be  found  about  12,000  books  which 
provide  a serviceable  reference  library,  and  the  foundation 
of  an  excellent  collection  in  English  and  other  modern  liter- 
ature. The  library  is  much  used  by  men  who  wish  to  find  a 
quiet  retreat  for  study.  The  Union  also  provides  good 
quarters  for  the  athletic  management,  for  the  Crimson  (with 
its  editorial  rooms  and  its  printing-office),  the  Advocate , and 
the  Monthly , and  suitable  rooms  for  the  territorial  clubs, 
the  debating  societies,  and  such  other  societies  as  do  not  have 
rooms  of  their  own,  but  meet  at  stated  intervals  and  require 
a regular  meeting  place.  It  is  also  found  to  be  an  admirable 
place  for  the  occasional  dinners  or  luncheons  which  societies 
or  graduate  associations  of  various  kinds  hold,  and  for  the 
hospitalities  which  the  College  wishes  to  extend  from  time 
to  time  to  visiting  bodies  or  to  distinguished  strangers.  The 
great  Living  Room  is  frequently  utilized  during  the  year 
for  public  meetings  and  for  addresses  by  eminent  men,  and 
for  class  meetings,  as  well  as  for  the  Junior  and  Class-day 
dances.  And  for  the  less  formal  entertainment  that  students 
may  wish  to  extend  to  their  visiting  friends  or  relatives,  the 
restaurant  and  the  ladies’  dining-room  have  proved  a great 
improvement  over  the  old  eating  places  in  Harvard  Square. 


16 


Changes  at  Harvard,  1889-1914 


As  a common  meeting  place  for  students  of  every  class  and 
kind  the  Union  has  reasonably  well  fulfilled  the  expectations 
of  its  founders.  It  has  not  revolutionized  the  social  life  of 
the  undergraduate,  but  it  has  done  much  toward  fostering 
a general  spirit  of  comradeship  and  in  providing  a place  for 
frequent  student  gatherings  that  has  served  to  knit  the  Col- 
lege more  closely  together.  At  present  the  membership  is 
about  2190,  of  which  1400  are  undergraduates,  or  fifty-nine 
per  cent  of  the  number  of  students  in  the  College  classes. 
This  is  slightly  less  than  last  year,  but  the  membership  shows 
a tendency  to  vary  unaccountably  from  year  to  year.  A 
count  recently  made  showed  an  average  attendance  of  926 
men  per  day. 

The  Dining  Halls.  At  Memorial  Hall  there  have  been  several 
changes  of  plan  and  a general  reorganization.  In  1903,  a 
new  system  of  charging  board  was  inaugurated  which  may 
be  described  as  half  way  between  the  old  fixed  price  system 
and  the  a la  carte  plan.  While  this  eliminated  some  of  the 
wastefulness  that  had  grown  up  under  the  old  system  and 
slightly  decreased  the  cost  of  board,  it  did  not  prove  entirely 
successful  and  in  1909  a return  was  made  to  the  old  fixed 
price  for  board.  The  Dining  Hall  Association  had  been 
getting  into  financial  troubles  and  it  was  felt  that  the  burden 
of  carrying  on  the  Hall  was  too  much  to  be  left  almost  en- 
tirely to  undergraduates.  The  management  of  the  dining 
halls  was  put  into  the  hands  of  a University  Dining  Council, 
consisting  of  three  persons  appointed  by  the  Corporation, 
three  elected  by  the  members  of  Memorial,  and  three  elected 
by  the  members  of  Randall  Hall.  Under  this  arrangement 
the  quality  of  the  food  and  service  has  been  improved,  and 
the  membership  of  Memorial  which  had  been  falling  off  has 
come  back  nearer  to  normal.  The  price  of  board  is  now 
$5.25  a week.  Randall  Hall,  built  from  the  bequest  of  John 
W.  and  Belinda  Randall,  was  opened  in  1899  to  provide  a 
place  where  students  might  find  good  food  at  a lower  cost 
than  at  Memorial.  The  service  is  a la  carte  or  in  “combina- 
tion meals,"  and  the  cost  of  board  thus  varies, — the  average 
is  between  $3  and  $3.50  a week.  For  the  last  two  years, 
since  the  demolition  of  Gore  Hall,  the  College  Library  has 
been  temporarily  quartered  in  Randall  Hall;  but  a dining 


17 


Class  of  Eighty  Nine 


hall  on  similar  lines  has  been  opened  in  Foxcroft  Hall. 
What  effect  the  opening  of  the  Freshman  Dormitories  with 
their  dining  halls  where  all  Freshmen  are  expected  to  eat, 
will  have  on  Memorial  and  Randall,  remains  to  be  seen. 
The  opening  of  the  dining-room  in  the  Union,  the  establish- 
ment of  several  restaurants  and  of  innumerable  lunch- 
counters  and  cafes  in  the  vicinity  of  Harvard  Square,  and 
also  the  ease  with  which  the  hotels  and  restaurants  of  Boston 
can  be  reached  by  the  Subway  in  only  eight  minutes,  seem 
to  have  made  a change  in  the  eating  habits  of  the  students. 
A much  larger  proportion  of  students  than  formerly  have  no 
regular  boarding-place,  but  wander  from  one  place  to  another 
as  fancy  moves  them. 

The  College  Yard.  The  appearance  of  the  College  Yard  has 
sadly  deteriorated,  for  the  glory  of  its  great  elms  is  almost  a 
thing  of  the  past.  Attacked  for  a succession  of  seasons  by 
various  insect  pests,  the  old  trees  have  died  one  after  another, 
until  it  is  only  a question  of  a very  short  time  when  the  last 
of  them  must  be  cut  down.  They  are  gradually  being  re- 
placed by  red  oaks,  but  it  will  be  many  years  before  the 
Yard  can  regain  anything  like  its  former  beauty.  On  the 
other  hand,  its  appearance  and  dignity  is  improved  by  the 
high  iron  fence  that  has  taken  the  place  of  the  old  wooden 
rails  that  used  to  surround  it.  It  is  broken  at  irregular  in- 
tervals by  a dozen  memorial  gates,  mostly  the  gifts  of  various 
classes.  Socially,  too,  the  Yard  has  undergone  changes. 
With  the  erection  in  the  ’90’s  of  many  private  dormitories 
in  the  Mount  Auburn  Street  region  (the  so-called  “Gold 
Coast”),  it  lost  to  some  extent  its  popularity,  and  there  were 
often  vacant  rooms  in  the  College  dormitories.  In  spite  of 
such  improvements  as  shower-baths  and  steam  heat  intro- 
duced in  some  of  the  older  buildings,  it  seemed  for  a time  as 
if  the  College  Yard  would  never  recover  its  prestige  in  com- 
petition with  the  greater  convenience  and  luxury  of  the 
more  modern  private  dormitories.  But  some  half-dozen 
years  ago,  the  custom  started  of  the  Seniors  taking  rooms  in 
the  Yard  for  the  last  year  of  their  College  life.  This  has 
spread  until  now  over  half  of  the  senior  class  lives  in  the 
senior  dormitories.  Rooms  in  these  buildings,  which  are 
Hollis,  Stoughton,  Holworthy,  Thayer,  and  part  of  Matthews, 


18 


Changes  at  Harvard,  1889-1914 


are  assigned  only  to  Seniors  and  arrangements  are  made  so 
that  groups  of  friends  can  get  rooms  in  the  same  entry. 
This  new  plan  has  not  only  brought  back  to  the  Yard  the 
traditional  college  life  that  it  seemed  in  grave  danger  of 
losing  but  it  has  done  much  toward  promoting  a proper 
college  spirit. 

The  Freshman  Dormitories.  Just  as  the  Seniors  have  of  their 
own  volition  got  together  for  the  final  year  of  the  College 
course,  so  hereafter  the  Freshmen,  by  the  action  of  the  Col- 
lege authorities,  will  have  to  live  together  in  their  first  year. 
The  plan  of  having  special  dormitories  where  practically 
the  whole  of  the  freshman  class  should  room  together  is 
largely  President  Lowell’s  and  the  early  accomplishment  of 
this  scheme  is  also  mainly  due  to  his  personal  effort.  Three 
of  these  Freshman  Dormitories  are  nearly  completed  and 
will  be  ready  for  occupancy  next  fall.  They  are  situated  near 
the  corner  of  Boylston  Street  and  the  parkway  along  Charles 
River.  One  of  these  was  paid  for  from  the  bequest  of  George 
Smith  and  will  be  known  as  Persis  Smith  Hall;  the  second 
is  from  a gift  of  Mrs.  Russell  Sage  and  at  her  request  is  to  be 
called  Standish  Hall;  and  the  third,  provided  for  from  a num- 
ber of  subscriptions  from  graduates  and  others,  will  be  named 
Gore  Hall,  in  order  to  perpetuate  the  name  of  Christopher 
Gore,  so  long  associated  with  the  old  Library  building  now 
torn,  down.  These  buildings,  all  designed  by  Mr.  Charles 
A.  Coolidge,  are  in  the  colonial  style  of  architecture,  not 
unlike  the  older  buildings  in  the  College  Yard.  They  will 
house  over  four  hundred  and  fifty  students  which  is  by  far 
the  greater  part  of  the  present  freshman  class  that  does  not 
live  at  home.  Besides  the  usual  rooms,  some  single  and  some 
in  suites  for  two,  or  more,  students  to  use  jointly,  each 
building  will  have  a dining  hall,  where  the  occupants  of  the 
dormitories  are  expected  to  take  their  meals. 

As  there  has  been  not  a little  misapprehension  of  the  pur- 
pose of  the  Freshman  Dormitories  and  the  means  to  be 
adopted  to  carry  it  out,  let  me  quote  President  Lowell’s  own 
statement  from  his  Report  for  1911-12:  “People  not  very 
familiar  with  the  progress  of  the  plan  have  expressed  a fear 
that  the  Freshmen  would  be  treated  like  boys  at  boarding 
school;  but  that  would  defeat  the  very  object  in  view,  of 


19 


Class  of  Eighty  Nine 


teaching  them  to  use  sensibly  the  large  liberty  of  college  life. 
Liberty  is  taught  to  young  men  not  by  regulations,  but  by 
its  exercise  in  a proper  environment.  The  vital  matter  is 
the  atmosphere  and  the  traditions  in  which  the  youth  is 
placed  on  entering  college.  At  present  he  is  too  much  en- 
chained in  a narrow  set  of  friends  who  copy  one  another,  not 
always  wisely,  and  come  too  little  into  contact  with  the 
broadening  influences  of  the  college  community  as  a whole.” 
The  object,  thus,  is  not  to  repress  and  restrain  the  Freshman 
by  too  stringent  rules  and  regulations,  but  to  help  him  to 
learn  to  conduct  his  own  life  properly  and  to  show  him  how 
he  can  get  the  best  out  of  his  life  at  Harvard. 

Expense  of  Living.  One  often  hears  comment,  generally 
regretful  comment,  on  the  increase  of  luxury  and  expensive 
living  among  college  students.  That  such  a change  has  taken 
place  cannot  be  denied,  a change  parallel  with  the  same 
general  rise  in  the  scale  of  living  in  the  homes  from  which 
students  come.  It  is  doubtless  true,  as  President  Eliot  said 
in  his  Report  for  1901-02,  that  the  poorest  student  of  today 
in  the  cheapest  college  dormitories  is  better  provided  with 
light,  heat,  books,  and  apparatus,  than  the  richest  student 
was  sixty  years  ago;  it  is  also  true  that  the  means  of  living 
expensively  and  luxuriously  exist  in  Cambridge  as  elsewhere, 
but  the  mode  of  life  of  the  great  majority  of  the  students 
remains  reasonably  simple  judged  by  the  standards  of  the 
time.  “For  some  reasons  one  could  wish  that  the  University 
did  not  offer  the  same  contrast  between  the  rich  man’s 
mode  of  life  and  the  poor  man’s  that  the  outer  world  offers ; 
but  it  does,  and  it  is  not  certain  that  the  presence  of  this 
contrast  is  unwholesome  or  injurious.  In  this  respect,  as 
in  many  others,  the  University  is  an  epitome  of  the  modern 
world.”  An  interesting  pamphlet  issued  last  year  by  the 
University  under  the  title  “Students’  Expenses  and  College 
Aids”  shows  that  a careful  man  can  with  strict  economy 
still  keep  his  annual  college  expenses  under  five  hundred 
dollars  a year.  The  means  for  aiding  needy  and  meritorious 
students  have  increased  greatly.  There  are  under  the 
Faculty  of  Arts  and  Sciences  at  present  some  460  scholar- 
ships and  fellowships,  with  a total  income  of  over  $115,000. 
Of  these  305  with  an  income  of  $67,000  are  for  undergraduates 


20 


Changes  at  Harvard,  1889-1914 


in  Harvard  College,  and  for  these  undergraduates  there  are 
also  available  from  the  Beneficiary  Aids,  the  Loan  Funds, 
and  the  Price  Greenleaf  Fund,  $23,900.  It  is  worth  noting 
that  nearly  two-thirds  of  these  undergraduate  scholarships 
have  been  founded  within  the  last  twenty-five  years. 

Athletics.  Athletics  continue  to  play  a large  part  in  under- 
graduate activities;  and  in  the  eye  of  the  public  they  are 
the  most  conspicuous  feature  of  collegiate  life.  No  small 
portion  of  the  time  of  the  governing  boards  of  the  College  is 
spent  in  an  endeavor,  sometimes  futile,  to  make  athletic 
interests  subordinate  to  the  real  aim  of  the  College.  To 
attempt  to  relate  in  detail  all  the  measures  that  have  been 
taken  to  regulate  intercollegiate  games  would  be  far  to  ex- 
ceed the  limits  of  this  paper.  But  as  those  members  of  the 
Class  who  still  take  an  interest  in  sports  have  probably  fol- 
lowed the  changes  pretty  closely,  and  as  those  who  no  longer 
have  sporting  instincts  would  find  no  interest  in  reading 
about  their  development,  I feel  I can  safely  touch  most 
summarily  on  this  phase  of  the  history  of  the  last  twenty-five 
years.  Nor  will  I go  into  the  pros  and  cons  of  the  discussions 
whether  football  is  brutal,  or  baseball  a fit  game  for  gentle- 
men; every  one  has  his  opinion  on  these  points  and  this  is 
no  place  for  polemics.  The  Athletic  Committee,  substan- 
tially the  same  as  when  it  was  created  in  our  senior  year, 
still  exercises  a healthful  control  over  the  games.  The  gate 
receipts,  now  amounting  to  about  two  hundred  thousand 
dollars  a year,  are  pooled  in  the  hands  of  the  Graduate 
Treasurer,  and  this  same  officer  has  an  oversight  over  the 
expenditure  of  this  money.  This  has  helped  to  restrict  the 
tendency  to  demoralizing  extravagance  in  the  management 
of  the  teams. 

The  scene  of  Harvard  athletics  has  changed  since  our  day; 
Holmes  Field  is  almost  covered  with  buildings,  and  Jarvis 
Field  is  given  over  to  tennis  courts.  The  games  now  all 
take  place  on  Soldiers  Field.  By  a gift  made  to  the  Uni- 
versity in  1890  by  Mr.  Henry  Lee  Higginson,  the  students 
were  provided  with  this  additional  play-ground  of  twenty 
acres.  This  new  field,  named  by  the  donor,  is  situated  in 
Allston,  just  across  the  Charles  River.  In  1903,  by  a gift 
from  the  Class  of  1879  and  from  funds  accumulated  by  the 


21 


Class  of  Eighty  Nine 


Athletic  Committee,  a Stadium  was  erected  with  a seating 
capacity  of  about  twenty-two  thousand.  Since  1898,  the 
Longfellow  Marsh  has  been  enclosed  to  form  part  of  Soldiers 
Field,  and  by  improvement  of  the  marsh  one  or  two  acres 
have  been  added  to  the  play-ground  every  year  until  now 
about  forty  acres  are  in  use.  The  total  available  area  will 
ultimately  be  more  than  sixty  acres.  Soldiers  Field  includes 
tennis  courts,  running  track,  hockey  rinks,  and  several  foot 
ball,  baseball,  and  lacrosse  fields.  On  the  Field  are  the 
Locker  Building,  erected  in  1894  from  subscriptions  from 
graduates,  and  a building  for  the  use  of  the  Baseball  and  other 
teams,  erected  in  1898  in  memory  of  Henry  Astor  Carey. 
Near  by  is  the  University  Boat  House,  given  in  1900  by  the 
Harvard  Club  of  New  York,  and  used  by  the  regular  crews 
and  by  the  Newell  Boat  Club ; and  the  Weld  Boat  House,  built 
in  1907  by  the  bequest  of  George  Walker  Weld,  with  accom- 
modation for  700  students  and  reserved  in  general  for  stu- 
dents not  on  regular  crews.  It  is  perhaps  worth  noting  that 
the  new  Freshman  Dormitories  are  in  close  proximity  to  this 
centre  of  athletic  interests. 

The  growth  of  Harvard’s  athletic  plant  in  the  last  25  years 
has  been  at  least  equaled  by  the  gain  in  the  athletic  prestige 
of  the  College  measured  in  terms  of  victories  over  Yale. 

In  the  four  years  during  which  the  Class  of  1889  was  in 
College  Harvard  did  not  win  from  Yale  a university  football 
game  or  boat  race.  There  were  occasional  victories  in 
baseball,  but  every  series  of  games  in  that  sport  also  was 
taken  by  Yale.  Harvard  did  better  in  track  and  field 
athletics  than  in  other  competitions;  for,  the  Harvard  team 
won  the  intercollegiate  meets  in  1886  and  1888.  There  were 
no  dual  meets  in  those  days. 

Things  have  radically  changed  since  that  dark  period.  In 
the  years  from  1899  to  1913,  inclusive,  Yale  has  won  seven 
university  boat  races,  and  Harvard  has  won  eight.  Since 
1905  Yale  has  beaten  Harvard  only  once — in  1907.  The 
year  1899  was  memorable  because  E.  C.  Storrow,  ’89,  coached 
the  Harvard  crew  and  produced  an  eight  which  won  a 
signal  victory  over  Yale^  in  that  year  Harvard  won  also  the 
races  for  freshman  eights  and  university  fours,  thus  “sweeping 
the  river”  for  the  first  time.  In  1900  Storrow  turned  out 


22 


Changes  at  Harvard,  1889-1914 


a crew  even  better  than  the  one  which  had  been  victorious 
in  the  previous  year,  but  the  1900  eight  was  barely  beaten 
because  the  stroke  oar,  who  only  a day  or  two  before  the  race 
had  taken  the  place  of  the  regular  stroke  and  captain,  was 
overcome  by  the  sun. 

The  record  in  football  has  been  almost  if  not  quite  as  good 
as  that  in  rowing.  Since  1908,  when  P.  D.  Haughton,  ’99, 
began  to  coach  the  Harvard  elevens,  Yale  has  won  but  one 
game — the  one  played  in  Cambridge  in  1909.  Harvard,  on 
the  other  hand,  won  at  New  Haven  in  1908  and  1912,  and 
in  Cambridge  in  1913. 

Moreover,  in  the  last  ten  years  Harvard  has  won  her  full 
share  of  the  baseball  series  and  the  dual  track  and  field  meets 
with  Yale.  Most  of  the  intercollegiate  athletic  meets  have 
been  won  by  other  colleges,  notably  Cornell  and  the  Uni- 
versity of  Pennsylvania.  In  lawn  tennis,  golf,  association 
football,  and  particularly  in  hockey  Harvard  has  had  marked 
success  not  only  against  Yale  but  against  other  opponents 
also.* 

Class  Day  exercises  about  the  Tree  were  given  up  in  1898,  and 
for  the  next  few  years  there  was  substituted  a gathering 
around  the  John  Harvard  statue  in  the  Delta.  This  never 
proved  entirely  satisfactory,  and  in  1904  the  experiment 
was  made  of  having  the  exercises  in  the  Stadium  on  Soldiers 
Field.  In  spite  of  the  long  and  often  dusty  walk  down 
Boylston  Street  and  across  the  River, — this  year  for  the 
first  time  the  Class  Day  crowd  will  have  the  advantage  of 
crossing  by  the  new  Anderson  bridge, — this  change  has  been 
a decided  success.  A speaker’s  stand  is  erected  facing  the 
curved  end  of  the  Stadium,  which  is  the  only  part  used  for  the 
day,  and  from  this  the  Ivy  oration,  cut  out  from  the  morning 
exercises  in  Sanders  Theatre,  is  delivered.  Cheering  by  the 
seniors,  the  undergraduates,  and  the  graduates,  the  passing 
down  of  the  class  colors  from  seniors  to  freshmen,  and 
showers  of  confetti  and  gay-colored  paper  streamers  make  up 
the  rest  of  the  programme. 

Commencement  Week,  too,  has  undergone  changes.  Three 


*For  the  above  athletic  summary,  the  thanks  of  the  Class  are  due  to 
our  classmate,  John  D.  Merrill,  who  prepared  it. 


23 


Class  of  Eighty  Nine 


years  ago,  in  order  that  all  the  various  ceremonies  and 
festivities  that  go  to  make  up  the  final  week  of  the  College 
year  should  fall  within  a single  week,  a general  rearrangement 
of  the  programme  was  introduced.  Under  the  new  system  the 
Phi  Beta  Kappa  exercises  occur  on  Monday;  Class  Day,  on 
Tuesday;  the  Harvard-Yale  baseball  game,  and  meetings  of 
Professional  School  Alumni,  on  Wednesday;  Commencement, 
on  Thursday;  the  Harvard-Yale  races,  on  Friday.  It  seems 
to  have  met  general  approval. 

The  Co-operative  Society,  which  is  now  an  incorporated  institu- 
tion, grows  stronger  every  year.  It  occupies  the  whole  of 
the  Lyceum  Hall  building  and  is  planning  the  erection  of  a 
new  and  more  commodious  building.  Its  annual  business 
amounts  to  over  $400,000  and  it  distributes  each  year  to  its 
members  a substantial  dividend  based  on  the  total  of  their 
purchases. 

Harvard  Square  and  the  Subway.  Since  the  opening  of  the 
Subway  to  Boston,  in  1912,  Harvard  Square  has  taken  on  a 
permanent  Sunday  quietude.  The  constant  rush  of  electrics 
with  the  crowds  of  people  ever  changing  cars  is  a thing  of  the 
past.  The  surface  cars  from  more  distant  suburbs  enter  the 
Subway  beyond  the  Square  and  their  passengers  change  under 
the  very  centre  of  Harvard  Square  to  trains  that  carry  them 
to  Park  Street  in  eight  minutes.  The  general  appearance 
of  the  Square  has  improved  somewhat:  on  the  one  side  the 
College  Yard  is  enclosed  by  its  handsome  fence,  and  on  the 
other,  many  of  the  older  buildings  have  given  place  to  larger, 
if  less  picturesque,  structures'.  A committee  of  Cambridge 
business  men,  alarmed  by  the  loss  of  trade  caused  by  the 
Subway,  has  invoked  the  aid  of  some  of  the  College  experts 
in  evolving  a plan  to  make  the  Square  more  attractive  and 
thus  win  back  by  beautification  some  of  its  lost  business. 

Student  Papers.  The  papers  issued  by  the  undergraduates 
show  little  change;  the  Crimson , the  Lampoon , the  Advocate , 
and  the  Monthly  go  on  much  as  they  always  have.  There 
has  lately  been  a movement  to  combine  the  two  last  men- 
tioned, but  so  far  without  success.  The  Lampoon  now  has  a 
building  of  its  own,  which  is  worth  noting,  for  it  is  one  of  the 
few  and  certainly  one  of  the  best  architectural  jokes  ever 


24 


Changes  at  Harvard,  1889-1914 


perpetrated.  There  is  also  one  other  student  paper  in  the 
field, — the  Harvard  Illustrated  Magazine. 

Phillips  Brooks  House.  The  House  erected  as  a Memorial  of 
Phillips  Brooks  was  dedicated  on  January  23,  1900,  and  pro- 
vides an  important  reinforcement  of  the  religious  life  of  the 
University.  Phillips  Brooks  House  is  designed  to  extend 
and  unite  many  scattered  undertakings  of  religion  and  philan- 
thropy in  the  University.  It  represents,  as  the  first  appeal 
for  such  a building  stated,  “one  more  step  in  the  compre- 
hensive plan  of  religious  work  of  which  the  establishment  of 
the  Board  of  Preachers  was  the  first  step.”  It  is  a centre 
for  the  social  and  charitable  activities  of  the  University  as 
well  as  for  religious  meetings,  a kind  of  Parish  House  con- 
nected with  the  administration  of  the  College  Chapel.  The 
tablet  which  stands  in  its  vestibule  accurately  describes  its 
purpose: — “This  House  is  Dedicated  to  Piety,  Charity, 
Hospitality,  in  Grateful  Memory  of  Phillips  Brooks.” 

The  great  parlor  on  the  first  floor  is  the  seat  of  constant 
hospitality  exercised  by  the  College  and  its  members.  Every 
afternoon  it  is  open  as  a place  where  men  may  bring  their 
visitors  to  rest  and  refresh  themselves ; throughout  the  winter 
on  Friday  afternoons  ladies  of  the  families  of  college  officers 
welcome  here  all  students  and  officers  of  the  University  who 
care  to  look  in  and  take  a cup  of  tea,  and  the  room  is  generally 
well  filled;  from  time  to  time  college  societies  use  the  rooms 
for  small  public  meetings  or  for  receptions  to  visiting  lecturers ; 
on  Commencement  Pay  the  Class  that  celebrates  its  fiftieth 
anniversary  occupies  the  house,  and  invites  the  survivors  of 
other  older  classes  to  meet  with  it;  and  during  the  period 
of  the  Summer  School  the  house  is  devoted  to  the  special 
use  of  the  ladies  of  that  school. 

Charitable  work  of  many  kinds  engaged  in  by  college  stu- 
dents is  organized  and  directed  at  the  Phillips  Brooks  House 
by  a student  body,  the  Phillips  Brooks  House  Association. 
It  serves  all  the  societies  alike  by  employing  a general  secre- 
tary, it  maintains  an  information  bureau  for  freshmen,  and 
it  gives  the  freshman  who  is  a stranger  a welcoming  hand, 
and  whatever  guidance  fellow  students  can  supply. 

The  Stillman  Infirmary,  the  gift  of  Mr.  James  Stillman  of 
New  York,  is  another  institution  which  has  a distinct  part  in 


25 


Class  of  Eighty  Nine 


student  life.  It  was  opened  in  the  autumn  of  1902,  and  a 
ward  for  contagious  diseases,  for  which  Mr.  Stillman  added 
$50,000  to  his  original  gift  of  $100,000,  was  built  two  years 
later.  A uniform  fee  of  four  dollars  is  charged  to  every 
student  registered  in  the  Cambridge  departments  of  the 
University.  Unmarried  officers  and  students  in  other  de- 
partments may  pay  the  same  fee  and  have  the  same  privi- 
lege in  return, — namely,  in  case  of  sickness,  a bed  in  a ward, 
board,  and  ordinary  nursing  for  a period  not  exceeding  two 
weeks.  These  fees  amount  to  about  $14,800,  which,  with 
other  receipts  from  patients  (from  $4000  to  $5000),  is  suffi- 
cient to  give  the  institution  proper  support.  During  the 
year  1911-12,  499  cases  were  treated  at  the  Infirmary;  of 
these  25  were  cases  of  appendicitis,  47  of  grippe,  and  64  of 
tonsillitis. 

In  connection  with  the  Stillman  Infirmary  should  be 
mentioned  the  Medical  Visitor,  who  has  general  charge  of 
the  health  of  the  College,  visits  students  who  are  sick,  unless 
they  prefer  the  visits  of  some  other  physician,  must  be  con- 
sulted by  students  who  wish  to  “sign  off”  or  be  excused  from 
college  work  on  account  of  sickness,  watches -sharply  for  all 
cases  ®f  contagious  disease,  and  is  especially  concerned  with 
the  administration  of  the  Infirmary.  Beginning  next  fall 
all  Freshmen  will  be  required  to  submit  themselves  to  a 
physical  examination  to  ascertain  their  general  condition 
and  fitness. 


THE  DEPARTMENTS 

The  Graduate  School  of  Arts  and  Sciences.  Until  after  our 
graduation  there  was  no  real  Graduate  School,  merely  a so- 
called  Graduate  Department  with  little  formal  organization 
and  attended  by  less  than  a hundred  students,  candidates  for 
higher  degrees.  In  1890,  however,  it  was  put  on  a more 
solid  basis  and  became  formally  known  as  the  Graduate 
School.  Under  this  better  organization  and  offering  more 
courses,  it  began  a period  of  steady  and  healthy  growth, 
until  fifteen  years  later  it  had  nearly  four  hundred  students. 
In  1905,  after  the  adoption  of  the  requirement  of  a pre- 
liminary degree  for  admission  to  the  professional  schools 
had  made  them  in  a sense  graduate  schools,  the  name  the 


26 


Changes  at  Harvard,  1889-1914 


Graduate  School  had  become  a misnomer,  and  it  was  changed 
to  the  Graduate  School  of  Arts  and  Sciences.  The  School 
has  continued  to  grow  and  now  numbers  nearly  500  men. 
Of  these  228  are  graduates  of  Harvard,  while  the  others  come 
from  eighty-eight  American  colleges  and  seventeen  foreign 
colleges.  Thirty-four  men  are  abroad  on  traveling  fellow- 
ships. Although  at  least  two  years  devoted  to  advanced 
study  is  required  of  candidates  for  the  doctor’s  degree,  more 
than  half  the  members  of  the  Graduate  School  remain  but 
one  year.  Many  have  pursued  graduate  studies  elsewhere 
before  coming  to  Harvard,  others  go  from  our  school  to  other 
universities  to  continue  their  studies,  the  German  custom  of 
migration  from  one  university  to  another  being  now  fairly 
well  established  in  America. 

Graduate  School  of  Applied  Science.  In  our  day,  the  old 
Lawrence  Scientific  School  was  considered  rather  a moribund 
institution,  a refuge  for  men  who  could  not  get  into  the  Col- 
lege, and  with  its  handful  of  students  (from  eighteen  to 
thirty-six  while  we  were  in  College)  was  deemed  a fit  subject 
for  jest.  But  under  the  deanship  of  Professor  Shaler  it 
became  one  of  the  most  flourishing  parts  of  the  University; 
in  the  year  of  his  death  (1906)  it  had  over  five  hundred 
students, — and  this  in  the  face  of  more  stringent  admission 
requirements.  In  the  following  year,  the  School  was  en- 
tirely reorganized  and,  under  Dean  Sabine,  became  the 
Graduate  School  of  Applied  Science,  being  placed  on  the 
same  basis  as  the*  other  graduate  schools  of  the  University. 
This  reorganization  and  development  was  rendered  possible 
mainly  through  the  great  bequest,  amounting  to  some  five 
million  dollars,  from  Gordan  McKay  for  work  in  applied 
science.  The  courses  in  this  School  are  given  under  five 
different  branches:  the  School  of  Engineering,  located 
mainly  in  Pierce  Hall,  and  giving  the  degrees  of  Master  in 
Civil  Engineering,  in  Mechanical  Engineering,  and  in  Elec- 
trical Engineering;  the  Mining  School,  centred  in  the  Rotch 
Building,  and  granting  the  degrees  of  Mining  Engineer  and 
Metallurgical  Engineer;  the  School  of  Architecture  and  Land- 
scape Architecture,  located  in  Robinson  Hall,  one  of  the  best 
equipped  of  the  University  buildings,  giving  the  degrees  of 
Master  of  Architecture  and  of  Landscape  Architecture;  the 


27 


Class  of  Eighty  Nine 


School  of  Forestry,  with  headquarters  during  the  winter 
months  in  the  Bussey  building  at  Jamaica  Plain,  and  during 
the  rest  of  the  year  at  the  Harvard  Forest  of  2,000  acres  at 
Petersham,  Mass., and  giving  the  degree  of  Master  of  Forestry; 
and  the  School  of  Applied  Biology,  located  on  the  grounds  of 
the  Bussey  Institution  at  Jamaica  Plain,  and  in  itself  a re- 
organization of  that  old  foundation,  and  giving  degrees  of 
Master  of  Science  and  of  Doctor  in  Applied  Biology. 

Recently,  an  announcement  has  been  made  that  will  in 
the  course  of  a few  years  make  a great  change  in  the  charac- 
ter of  this  School ; it  is  the  merger  of  the  engineering  courses 
now  given  at  Harvard  with  the  similar  courses  at  the  Massa- 
chusetts Institute  of  Technology.  Of  this  merger,  which  will 
not  take  actual  effect  until  the  completion  of  the  new  build- 
ings of  the  Institute  now  being  erected  on  the  Cambridge 
side  of  the  Charles  River,  President  Lowell  says : 

“Friends  of  Harvard  University  and  the  Massachusetts  Institute  of 
Technology — and  they  have  many  friends  in  common — have  long  de- 
plored the  rivalry  of  two  schools  of  engineering  competing  on  opposite 
sides  of  a river.  The  disadvantages  have  been  made  even  more  evi- 
dent by  the  decision  of  the  Institute  to  cross  the  Charles;  but  the 
difficulty  of  making  an  arrangement  satisfactory  to  both  parties  has 
hitherto  been  very  great:  and,  in  fact,  the  obstacles  to  a combination 
between  rival  institutions  supported  by  and  serving  the  same  com- 
munity have  been  one  of  the  grave  defects  of  higher  education  in  Amer- 
ica. This  difficulty  seems  at  last  to  have  been  overcome  here  by  a plan 
for  cooperation  in  the  conduct  of  one  school  of  engineering  and  mining. 
The  plan  is  favorable  to  both  institutions.  Both  gain  thereby.  Which 
gains  the  most  can  probably  not  be  determined,  and  certainly  has  not 
been  computed,  for  the  leading  motive  with  the  authors  of  the  agreement 
has  lain  in  another  plane.  Both  institutions  exist  for  the  promotion 
of  instruction  and  research.  Each  is  a means  to  an  end  larger  than 
itself,  the  welfare  of  the  community  as  a whole;  and  that  both  acting 
in  concert  can  further  this  end  better  than  either  working  alone  cannot 
be  doubted.  By  the  combination  of  resources  and  momentum  a school 
ought  to  be  maintained  unequaled  on.  this  continent  and  perhaps  in  the 
old  'world.” 

This  agreement  between  Harvard  and  Technology  pro- 
vides in  general  that  neither  institution  shall  be  affected  in 
name,  organization,  or  title  to  property,  but  that  the  re- 
sources of  both  are  to  be  so  utilized  that  duplication  of  effort 
and  equipment  shall  be  avoided  in  the  special  subjects  now 


28 


Changes  at  Harvard,  1889-1914 


considered  in  the  plan  of  amalgamation.  These  are  the 
departments  of  mechanical,  civil,  electrical,  and  sanitary 
engineering,  and  mining  and  metallurgy-.  Harvard  pro- 
fessors and  instructors  in  these  subjects  will  have  a corre- 
sponding rank  in  both  institutions  and  students  in  these 
courses  will  be  ordinarily  enrolled  in  and  receive  degrees 
from  both  Harvard  and  Technology.  The  president  of 
Harvard  takes  an  advisory  part  in  the  selection  of  any 
future  president  of  the  Institute.  The  corporations  of  both 
institutions  must  be  consulted  in  regard  to  appointments 
to  important  positions  in  the  common  departments. 

Graduate  School  of  Business  Administration.  A recent 
addition  to  the  professional  graduate  schools  is  the  Graduate 
School  of  Business  Administration.  This  was  established 
in  1908,  with  Professor  E.  F.  Gay  as  Dean.  The  School 
offers  preparation  for  those  branches  of  business  in  which 
a professional  training  may  now  suitably  be  given,  such  as 
transportation,  banking,  insurance,  accounting,  and  auditing. 
The  two  years  of  graduate  study,  based  upon  the  preliminary 
college  course,  comprise  a series  of  new  courses  in  general 
subjects,  commercial  law,  economic  resources,  industrial 
organization,  and  principles  of  accounting,  followed  by  the 
more  specialized  courses  leading  directly  to  the  business  for 
which  the  student  is  fitting.  While  efficient  training  for 
business  is  the  service  to  the  community  which  Harvard 
chiefly  designs  in  the  foundation  of  the  School,  the  instruction 
given  provides  also,  in  certain  directions,  for  those  who  aim 
to  enter  the  Government  service.  While  the  needs  of  certain 
specialized  lines  of  business  are  kept  prominently  in  view, 
the  student  planning  for  other  activities  in  commerce  or 
manufacturing  is  not  neglected.  In  addition  to  the  more 
general  courses  already  indicated,  especial  attention  will  be 
given  to  the  development  of  the  work  in  business  organiza- 
tion and  system.  Instruction  in  this  branch,  particularly 
in  the  second  year,  may  be  readily  adapted  to  meet  indi- 
vidual requirements.  In  addition  to  the  courses  of  instruction 
by  the  members  of  its  own  Faculty,  the  School  offers  numer- 
ous lectures  by  experts  and  business  men  of  experience  in 
various  lines  of  activity.  At  the  end  of  the  two  year  course, 
it  grants  the  degree  of  Master  in  Business  Administration. 


29 


Class  of  Eighty  Nine 


The  Divinity  School.  The  chief  event  in  the  history  of  the 
Divinity  School  was  brought  about  by  the  removal,  in  1908, 
of  the  Andover  Theological  Seminary  to  Cambridge.  While 
each  institution  maintains  its  independence,  the  two  were 
formally  affiliated,  so  that  courses  in  either  one  may  under 
certain  conditions  be  counted  toward  a degree  in  the  other. 
Moreover,  the  courses  offered  by  the  two  faculties  are 
planned  so  as  to  form  one  systematic  body  of  theological 
instruction.  While  the  Harvard  School  still  maintains  its 
undenominational  character,  the  scope  of  its  instruction 
has  been  broadened  by  its  association  with  Andover.  The 
libraries  of  the  two  institutions  have  been  consolidated  and 
are  housed  in  the  new  building  erected  by  Andover  near  the 
Divinity  School,  in  what  we  used  to  know  as  “Norton’s 
Woods.” 

The  Law  School.  The  history  of  the  Law  School  is  one  of 
continued  prosperity.  Its  growth  has  been  checked  from 
time  to  time  by  more  rigorous  admission  requirements,  but, 
in  spite  of  this,  the  number  of  students  today  is  more  than 
three  times  what  it  was  twenty-five  years  ago.  Since  1899 
only  graduates  of  approved  colleges  have  been  admitted  as 
regular  students.  Of  the  695  students  registered  at  the 
beginning  of  the  current  year,  167  were  graduates  of  Har- 
vard and  the  remainder  represented  141  other  colleges. 
The  intercollegiate  and  national  character  of  the  School  is 
shown  by  the  fact  that  over  three-quarters  of  the  students 
are  graduates  of  colleges  other  than  Harvard  and  that  two- 
thirds  of  them  come  from  outside  of  New  England.  About 
sixty  per  cent  of  the  graduates  are  practising  law  outside  of 
the  New  England  states.  A new  building,  Langdell  Hall, 
was  erected  in  1907,  and  paid  for  out  of  the  accumulated 
surpluses  of  the  School.  The  library  of  the  Law  School  has 
grown  rapidly  and  been  built  up  systematically,  until  today 
it  is  considered  the  best  collection  of  legal  books  in  the  world. 
It  contains  over  151,000  volumes. 

The  Medical  School.  The  Medical  School  had  in  1888-89, 
275  students;  it  grew  rapidly  and  in  1900-01  there  were  over 
600  men  registered  in  the  School.  In  that  year,  the  require- 
ment of  an  A.B.  for  entrance  to  the  School  was  put  into 
effect,  with  the  not  unexpected  result  of  an  immediate  and 


30 


Changes  at  Harvard,  1889-1914 


large  decrease  in  the  number  of  students.  The  School  has 
never  regained  its  maximum  numbers  and  at  present  has 
310  students.  Last  year  an  important  change  was  made  in 
regard  to  the  requirements  for  admission  into  the  School. 
Under  the  old  rules  it  was  provided  that  in  exceptional 
cases  students  without  a degree  might  be  admitted  if  they 
had  spent  two  years  in  a college  of  recognized  standing  and 
had  pursued  a certain  number  of  courses  in  physics,  chem- 
istry, and  biology;  but  they  were  admitted  only  as  special 
students.  Now  such  men  may  be  admitted  as  regular 
students,  provided  they  have  devoted  one  full  year  to  the 
study  of  these  subjects  and  that  they  have  ranked  in  the 
upper  third  of  their  classes.  In  1906,  the  Medical  School 
was  removed  to  its  new  buildings  on  Longwood  Avenue. 
This  stately  group  of  five  white  marble  buildings,  which 
form  a notable  addition  to  the  architecture  of  Boston,  was 
erected  at  a cost  of  over  three  million  dollars.  The  archi- 
tects were  Messrs.  Shepley,  Ruttan  and  Coolidge,  and  the 
buildings,  the  result  of  prolonged  study,  combine  many 
features  that  render  them  particularly  well  adapted  to  their 
purposes.  Three  of  the  buildings  were  the  gift  of  the  late 
John  Pierpont  Morgan,  one  the  gift  of  Mrs.  Collis  P.  Hunting- 
ton,  and  one  the  gift  of  Mr.  David  Sears.  Other  friends  of 
medical  science  and  of  Harvard  contributed  liberally  to  the 
buildings  and  their  endowment,  and  Mr.  John  D.  Rocke- 
feller gave  one  million  dollars  for  the  endowment  fund.  The 
total  invested  funds  of  the  School  amount  to  nearly  $4,000,- 
000.  In  1909,  there  was  started  a Department  of  Preventive 
Medicine  and  Hygiene;  this  gives  the  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Public  Hygiene  (“D.P.H.”).  In  1912,  a Graduate  School 
of  Medicine  was  established,  which  has  charge  not  only  of 
the  graduate  work  but  of  the  summer  courses  in  medicine. 
The  erection  of  several  new  hospitals  near  the  School  has 
greatly  increased  its  clinical  advantages;  these  are  the  Peter 
Bent  Brigham  Hospital  (opened  in  February,  1913);  the 
Collis  P.  Huntington  Memorial  Hospital,  erected  by  the 
Harvard  Cancer  Commission;  the  Infants’  Hospital  (Rotch 
Memorial  Building) ; the  Children’s  Hospital ; and  the  Psy- 
chopathic Hospital.  While  the  Medical  School  has  done  a 
great  deal  for  the  advancement  of  medical  science  by  spe- 


31 


Class  of  Eighty  Nine 


cial  investigation k and  research  in  such  subjects  as  cancer 
and  tropical  diseases,  it  has  also  done  much  for  general  ex- 
tension of  the  knowledge  of  hygiene  and  medical  matters  by 
giving  series  of  popular  lectures  on  Saturday  evenings  and 
Sunday  afternoons. 

The  Dental  School.  In  1909,  the  Dental  School  moved  to  its 
new  and  finely  equipped  building  adjacent  to  the  Medical 
School.  This  building  is  used  for  hospital  and  operating 
purposes;  all  lecture  courses  for  dental  students  are  given 
in  the  Medical  School  building.  The  Dental  School  has 
only  about  $72,000  of  invested  funds,  and  is  badly  in  need 
of  additional  endowment. 

The  School  for  Health  Officers,  the  most  recent  of  the  gradu- 
ate schools,  is  conducted  in  cooperation  with  the  Institute 
of  Technology.  Its  aim  is  to  fit  young  men  for  public  health 
work,  and  especially  to  prepare  them  to  occupy  administra- 
tive and  executive  positions,  such  as  health  officers,  mem- 
bers of  boards  of  health,  or  secretaries,  agents,  or  inspectors 
of  health  organizations.  It  grants  a Certificate  of  Public 
Health  to  candidates  who  have  satisfactorily  completed  an 
approved  course  of  studies  after  at  least  one  year  of  residence. 

The  Library.  The  great  event  in  the  history  of  the  Library 
for  these  twenty-five  years  comes  at  their  very  close.  This 
is  the  gift  of  the  great  Widener  Memorial  Building,  now 
being  erected,  and  which  it  is  hoped  may  be  ready  for  occu- 
pancy next  Fall.  Harry  Elkins  Widener,  ’07,  who  lost  his 
life  in  the  sinking  of  the  “ Titanic,”  bequeathed  to  the 
Library  his  remarkable  collection  of  rare  books,  but  with 
one  wise  condition, — namely,  that  they  should  not  be  given 
to  the  Library  until  Harvard  had  a safe  and  proper  place  to 
keep  them.  This  condition  his  mother,  Mrs.  George  D. 
Widener,  of  Philadelphia,  most  generously  met  by  giving 
in  memory  of  her  son  the  Library  building  which  is  now  near- 
ing completion.  There  is  no  space  in  this  report  to  describe 
the  new  building ; I can  only  briefly  state  that  it  was  designed 
by  Mr.  Horace  Trumbauer,  of  Philadelphia,  is  built  of  Har- 
vard brick  with  limestone  trimmings,  occupies  a space  of 
about  200  by  250  feet,  and  will  give  accommodation  for  at 
least  two  million  volumes.  As  the  new  structure  occupies 

v in  part  the  site  of  Gore  Hall,  it  was  necessary  to  tear  down 

\ 


32 


( 

Changes  at  Harvard,  1889-1914 


the  latter  and  to  find  a temporary  habitation  for  the  library 
elsewhere.  Thus  for  two  years  the  Harvard  Library  has 
been  in  strange  quarters;  the  greater  part  of  the  books  and 
the  staff  of  workers  are  located  in  Randall  Hall,  temporarily 
converted  from  its  use  as  a dining-hall  to  more  literary  pur- 
poses; the  reading-room  is  established  in  Massachusetts 
Hall;  and  the  thousands  of  books  that  could  not  be  crowded 
into  Randall  are  colonized  in  various  College  buildings, — 
some  in  the  Andover  Theological  School,  some  in  the  Univer- 
sity Museum,  some  in  Emerson  Hall,  and  others  in  whatever 
place  could  be  found  to  hold  them.  Yet  in  spite  of  these 
abnormal  conditions  the  work  of  the  library  has  gone  on 
much  as  usual,  and  all  the  books  are  so  accessible  that  they 
can  be  delivered  to  an  enquirer  within  a few  hours. 

The  Library  has  increased  rapidly  in  size  during  the  period 
under  review:  in  1889  it  contained  268,000  volumes;  today 
it  has  about  625,000  volumes.  Its  invested  funds  for  the 
purchase  of  books  have  increased  by  nearly  $200,000;  and 
it  has  received  many  gifts  and  bequests  of  books  and  collec- 
tions. Only  a few  of  these  collections  can  be  mentioned 
here:  the  library  of  Professor  Norton,  given  by  subscriptions 
from  his  friends;  the  Hohenzollern  collection  of  German 
history  (over  11,000  volumes),  given  by  Professor  A.  C. 
Coolidge;  Professor  Bocher’s  Moliere  collection,  given  by 
James  Hazen  Hyde;  the  Persius  collection  given  by  Professor 
Morgan;  the  Herbert  collection  given  by  Professor  Palmer; 
and  the  Bowie  library  of  early  printed  books  and  classics, 
given  by  Mrs.  E.  D.  Brandegee  in  memory  of  her  grand- 
father, William  Fletcher  Weld.  The  development  of  the 
Library  has  also  been  greatly  helped  by  various  gifts  of 
money,  some  in  single  gifts  of  perhaps  several  thousand 
dollars,  some  in  annual  gifts  of  from  twenty-five  to  two 
hundred  dollars,  from  different  graduates.  These  gifts, 
generally  devoted  to  buying  books  on  some  subject  in  which 
the  donor  is  interested,  as,  for  example,  Shakespeare,  Moliere, 
London,  China,  or  Folk-lore,  have  benefited  the  Library  in 
enabling  it  to  build  up  its  collections  on  certain  special  sub- 
jects. 

But  the  whole  story  of  the  library  resources  of  the  Univer- 
sity is  not  told  yet,  for  the  libraries  of  the  various  depart- 


33 


Class  of  Eighty  Nine 


ments,  such  as  the  Law  School,  the  Divinity  School,  the  Gray 
Herbarium,  etc.,  have  shown  a growth  as  vigorous  as  the 
College  Library.  These  libraries  have  altogether  over 
400,000  volumes,  as  compared  to  about  87,000  in  1889. 
Moreover,  there  has  sprung  up  an  entirely  new  system  of 
special  reference,  or  class-room  libraries,  that  today  have  a 
total  of  some  71,000  volumes.  Among  these,  for  example, 
are  the  Classical  Library,  the  Child  Memorial  Library  of 
English  Literature,  the  Chemistry  Library,  the  Library  of 
the  Business  School,  and  some  thirty-five  others.  The  total 
number  of  books  and  pamphlets  belonging  to  the  University 
is  about  1,800,000. 

But  in  spite  of,  or  rather  because  of,  this  great  growth,  the 
Library  is  far  from  prosperous.  The  funds  available  for 
administration  have  not  kept  pace  with  the  book  funds,  and 
each  year  a large  part  of  the  “deficit’ ’ in  the  University  ac- 
counts is  due  to  the  cost  of  running  the  Library.  For  years 
the  Library  has  been  hampered  not  only  by  a crowded  and 
inconvenient  building  but  by  a lack  of  money  for  properly 
carrying  on  its  work.  And  now,  when  it  is  about  to  occupy 
a magnificent  new  building,  bringing  with  it  not  only  neces- 
sarily increased  running  expenses  but  greater  opportunities 
for  better  and  broader  work,  the  need  of  adequate  funds  will 
be  felt  more  than  ever  before. 

The  Astronomical  Observatory,  with  an  income  of  about 
$44,000  a year  from  invested  funds  continues  to  carry  on 
scientific  investigations  of  the  greatest  value.  Observations 
are  made  not  only  at  Cambridge  but  at  its  southern  station 
in  Arequipa,  Peru.  The  collection  of  astronomical  photo- 
graphs, consisting  of  over  two  hundred  thousand  glass 
plates,  contains  the  only  existing  history  of  the  stellar  uni- 
verse for  the  last  twenty-five  years.  The  results  of  the 
work  done  at  the  Observatory  have  been  published  in  a 
series  of  Annals,  that  now  comprise  seventy-five  quarto 
volumes. 

The  Bussey  Institution,  which  was  established  as  an  under- 
graduate school  of  agriculture,  was  entirely  reorganized  in 
1908.  It  is  now  a part  of  the  Graduate  School  of  Applied 
Science  and  is  an  institution  for  advanced  instruction  and 
research  in  subjects  relating  to  agriculture  and  horticulture. 


34 


Changes  at  Harvard,  1889-1914 


The  fields  of  instruction  and  research  represented  in  its 
work  are  economic  entomology,  animal  heredity,  and  ex- 
perimental plant  morphology.  During  part  of  the  year  the 
work  of  the  Division  of  Forestry  is  carried  on  at  the  Bussey 
Institution. 

The  Arnold  Arboretum  has  developed  into  a public  park  of 
great  attractiveness  and  beauty,  filled  with  a representative, 
classified,  growing  collection  of  trees.  These  living  collec- 
tions are  supplemented  by  an  herbarium,  a museum,  and  a 
library  of  28,500  volumes.  Experiments  are  carried  on  in 
arboriculture,  forestry,  and  dendrology.  The  maintenance 
of  the  drives  and  walks  and  police  protection  is  assumed  by 
the  city  of  Boston  in  return  for  the  privileges  the  public 
enjoy  in  the  use  of  the  grounds. 

The  Gray  Herbarium,  through  the  generosity  of  Mr.  Nathaniel 
T.  Kidder,  Mr.  George  R.  White,  and  other  friends,  has  been 
able  to  make  large  additions  to  its  buildings  and  also  almost 
entirely  to  reconstruct  the  older  portions  so  as  to  render  them 
fireproof  and  more  convenient.  The  number  of  sheets  of 
mounted  specimens  owned  by  the  Herbarium  is  nearly 
500,000.  It  has  issued  a Card-index  to  New  Genera  and 
Species  of  American  Plants,  that  now  consists  of  over  100,000 
cards,  and  is  by  far  the  most  extensive  botanical  undertaking 
of  its  kind. 

The  Botanic  Garden,  beside  its  ordinary  work  in  Cambridge, 
has  been  for  some  years  conducting  an  experiment  station  in 
Cuba  where  work  is  in  progress  expected  to  improve  the 
varieties  of  sugar-cane,  rice,  maize,  and  other  vegetables, 
and  to  test  the  crops  best  suited  to  Cuban  agriculture. 

The  University  Museum.  The  great  University  Museum 
building,  to  which  an  addition  has  just  been  made,  completing 
the  original  plan  of  three  sides  of  an  open  square  facing 
Divinity  Avenue,  houses  the  Museum  of  Comparative 
Zoology,  the  Botanical  Museum,  the  Mineralogical  Museum, 
the  Geological  Museum,  and  the  Peabody  Museum  of  Amer- 
ican Archaeology  and  Ethnology,  each  one  of  them  including 
besides  its  collections  various  laboratories  for  students  and 
investigators.  Both  the  Museum  of  Comparative  Zoology 
and  the  Peabody  Museum  have  sent  out  from  time  to  time 
expeditions  to  different  parts  of  the  world  for  gathering  ma- 


35 


Class  of  Eighty  Nine 


terial  for  their  collections  and  for  making  scientific  investiga- 
tions, and  both  have  published  important  series  of  mono- 
graphs. Their  two  libraries  contain  over  55,000  volumes 
and  almost  as  many  pamphlets.  The  Botanical  Museum 
contains  the  interesting  and  beautiful  collection  of  glass 
models  of  flowers,  presented  by  Mrs.  Elizaebth  C.  Ware  and 
Miss  Mary  L.  Ware,  as  a memorial  of  Dr.  Charles  Eliot  Ware, 
’34,  and  made  by  the  artists,  Leopold  and  Rudolph  Blaschka 
of  Germany. 

The  growth  of  museums  and  collections  has  been  one  of 
the  most  striking  facts  in  the  recent  history  of  the  College, 
and  the  funds  now  held  by  the  Corporation  for  the  support 
of  museums  and  collections,  including  under  that  head  the 
Arnold  Arboretum,  the  Botanic  Garden,  and  the  Gray 
Herbarium,  amount  to  over  two  and  one-third  million  dollars. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  funds  devoted  to  the  support  of 
libraries  and  the  purchase  of  books  amount  to  a little  over  a 
million  and  a quarter. 

The  Semitic  Museum,  on  Divinity  Avenue,  was  built  in  1902 
(at  an  expense  of  about  $80,000),  but  the  collections,  illus- 
trating the  manners,  customs,  and  history  of  the  Semitic 
peoples,  housed  therein  were  begun  ten  years  or  more  before. 
The  building  also  contains  a department  library  with  a 
valuable  collection  of  Arabic  and  Syriac  manuscripts,  and 
lecture  rooms  for  the  courses  in  Semitic  subjects.  Mr. 
Jacob  H.  Schiff  of  New  York  has  been  the  steady  patron  of 
Semitic  studies  at  Harvard,  has  contributed  generously  to 
the  purchase  of  collections,  gave  the  building,  and  gave  the 
money  necessary  for  important  excavations  at  Samaria, 
which  were  carried  on  largely  under  the  direction  of  our 
classmate,  Reisner. 

The  Germanic  Museum,  established  in  1902,  is  for  the  present 
installed  in  the  old  gymnasium  building,  which  turns  out  to 
be  unexpectedly  well  adapted  to  the  display  of  collections. 
The  gifts  of  the  German  Emperor,  the  King  of  Saxony,  the 
Prince  Regent  of  Bavaria,  the  Swiss  Government,  and  of  a 
committee  in  Berlin  form  the  most  important  and  the  most 
imposing  treasures  of  the  museum,  but  other  objects  are 
slowly  being  added,  and  only  time  and  money  are  required 
to  carry  out  the  ambitious  desires  of  the  Curator,  and  to 


36 


Changes  at  Harvard,  1889-1914 


make  this  museum  “a  comprehensive  yet  condensed  historical 
conspectus  of  the  artistic  and  technical  activity  of  the  Ger- 
man race”  not  only  in  Germany  proper  but  throughout 
Europe. 

The  late  Adolphus  Busch  gave  money  for  a new  building 
which  will  soon  be  erected  on  Kirkland  Street,  opposite 
Memorial  Hall.  The  architect  chosen  is  Professor  Bestel- 
meyer  of  Dresden,  and  the  building  will  be  an  interesting 
example  of  the  best  in  modern  German  architecture. 

The  William  Hayes  Fogg  Art  Museum  was  founded  in  1895  by 
Mrs.  Elizabeth  Fogg  of  New  York  in  memory  of  her  husband. 
The  building,  which  was  designed  by  the  late  Richard  M. 
Hunt,  has  recently  been  extensively  altered,  with  the  especial 
aim  of  making  the  upper  gallery  more  available  for  exhibition 
purposes.  It  was  the  initial  purpose  of  the  Museum  to  em- 
brace in  its  collections  only  photographs,  engravings,  casts, 
and  other  reproductions,  but  not  originals.  But  the  gener- 
osity of  its  friends  has  brought  to  it  a small,  but  important 
and  steadily  growing,  collection  of  original  works  of  art.  It 
contains  some  good  examples  of  Greek  sculpture,  a small 
collection  of  Greek  vases,  a number  of  early  Italian,  German, 
and  Flemish  paintings,  and  drawings  by  masters  of  the  early 
English  water  color  school.  It  has  a large  and  growing  col- 
lection of  over  42,000  photographs  of  works  of  art  of  all 
countries  and  epochs,  including  architecture,  sculpture,  and 
painting.  It  also  possesses  the  large  Gray  and  Randall 
collections  of  prints  and  engravings. 

The  Social  Museum,  placed  in  Emerson  Hall,  comprises  a 
collection  of  some  seven  thousand  photographs,  models, 
diagrams,  and  charts  illustrating  the  functions  and  achieve- 
ments of  many  movements  of  industrial  and  social  welfare. 
It  forms  an  important  supplement  to  the  courses  in  Social 
Ethics. 

University  Extension.  Since  1910,  the  Administrative  Board 
for  University  Extension  has  offered  certain  courses  to  per- 
sons not  in  residence  in  the  University.  These  courses 
include  (1)  the  Summer  School;  (2)  certain  courses  given  in 
Boston  under  the  Commission  on  Extension  Courses,  and 
partly  supported  by  the  Lowell  Institute  and  the  Teachers’ 
School  of  Science;  and  (3)  the  School  for  Social  Workers, 


37 


Class  of  Eighty  Nine 


established  in  1904  in  connection  with  Simmons  College,  and 
open  to  both  men  and  women.  Our  classmate,  Ropes,  is 
Dean  of  this  department. 

The  Summer  Schools.  In  the  summer  of  1889,  Harvard  Col- 
lege gave  instruction  in  eight  different  courses  to  188  persons. 
Last  year,  the  Summer  School  of  Arts  and  Sciences,  under 
the  deanship  of  Ropes,  offered  over  sixty'  courses  in  twenty 

• different  subjects  to  793  persons.  In  addition  to  this  over 
one  hundred  and  fifty  attended  the  Engineering  Camp  at 
Squam  Lake,  two  hundred  and  seventy  the  Summer  Gradu- 
ate School  of  Medicine,  and  twenty-nine  the  School  of 
Applied  Science.  The  attendance  at  the  School  of  Arts  and 
Sciences  is  usually  about  equally  divided  between  men  and 
women.  From  forty  to  fifty  per  cent  of  these  are  teachers  in 
other  colleges  or  in  schools.  Ten  to  fifteen  per  cent  are 
generally  Harvard  students,  studying  either  to  make  up 
some  condition  or  to  gain  advanced  standing.  From  one- 
sixth  to  a quarter  attend  the  courses  in  physical  training 
given  under  the  direction  of  Dr.  Sargent  in  the  Hemenway 
Gymnasium. 

The  Summer  Schools  are  a great  agency  of  university  ex- 
tension, and  provide  for  many  persons,  whose  means 
or  whose  other  duties  prevent  their  taking  a full  college 
course,  the  same  opportunities  in  single  subjects  that  college 
students  enjoy;  and  in  addition  all  the  resources  of  the 
University  are  thrown  open  to  them:  library,  museums, 
laboratories,  Phillips  Brooks  House,  Memorial  Hall,  the 
College  Chapel,  the  Gymnasium.  Moreover,  the  summer 
students  have  special  evening  lectures  and  readings  provided 
for  them,  and  weekly  excursions  to  places  of  interest  in  the 
vicinity. 

The  existence  of  the  Summer  School  has  also  made  it 
possible  for  the  University  on  more  than  one  occasion  to 
organize  special  courses  of  instruction  for  companies  of 
foreigners,  whose  needs  have  been  very  different  from  those 
of  the  regular  students.  Thus  in  the  summer  of  1900  there 
appeared  in  Cambridge  a party  of  1273  Cuban  teachers,  who 
lent  a foreign  and  picturesque  air  to  the  dull  Cambridge 
summer.  In  1904,  three  hundred  and  fifty  teachers  from 
Porto  Rico  took  advantage  of  these  summer  courses,  and  two 


38 


Changes  at  Harvard,  1889-1914 


years  later  a group  of  forty  Chinese  students  attended  the 
School. 

University  Press.  For  many  years  the  College  has  maintained 
a printing  office,  where  most  of  the  official  publications  of  the 
University,  such  as  the  Catalogue,  the  Annual  Report,  etc., 
were  printed.  But  this  was  found  to  be  far  from  adequate 
for  present  needs,  and  in  January,  1913,  the  Corporation 
formally  established  the  Harvard  University  Press.  Its 
aim  is  to  aid  in  the  advancement  of  knowledge  by  the  publica- 
tion of  works  of  a high  scholarly  character  that  might  not 
be  considered  a wise  business  venture  by  the  ordinary  com- 
mercial publisher.  The  University  has  a few  funds  that 
can  be  used  for  publication  of  special  series,  but  it  is  hoped 
that  additional  money  may  be  obtained  to  provide  a suitable 
building  for  the  Press,  well  equipped  with  printing  presses 
and  a varied  assortment  of  types,  especially  for  foreign 
languages.  Meanwhile  much  of  its  printing  must  be  done 
outside.  There  have  already  been  published  a number  of 
important  books  by  the  Press,  besides  the  different  series 
and  periodicals  that  it  issues  for  the  Departments.  Among 
these  are  the  Quarterly  Journal  of  Economics , the  Harvard 
Theological  Review , the  Harvard  Law  Review , and  the  Archi- 
tectural Quarterly;  Harvard  Studies  in  Classical  Philology , 
Historical  Studies , Economic  Studies , Studies  in  Comparative 
Literature , and  Studies  and  Notes  in  Philology  and  Literature. 

Finally,  let  me  urge  every  member  of  the  Class  to  keep  in  touch 
with  the  current  affairs  and  progress  of  the  University.  The 
annual  Report  of  the  President  is  a volume  that  always 
repays  careful  reading;  it  will  be  sent  free  to  any  graduate 
who  asks  for  it.  (Address  the  Harvard  University  Press, 
2 University  Hall.)  The  Harvard  Graduates'  Magazine 
(issued  quarterly,  $2  a year)  is  now  in  its  twenty-second  year. 
Its  contents  are  varied  and  interesting,  including  a review 
of  the  University  for  each  quarter,  news  from  the  College 
Classes  and  Harvard  Clubs,  a record  of  athletic  events,  articles 
on  the  history  of  the  College  and  on  undergraduate  life, 
memoirs  and  portraits  of  Harvard  men,  views  of  new  build- 
ings, the  records  of  the  Corporation,  the  necrology,  and  other 
matters  of  interest  to  the  Alumni.  The  Harvard  Alumni 
Bulletin  (issued  weekly  during  the  College  year,  $3  a year), 


39 


Class  of  Eighty  Nine 


has  the  advantage  of  more  frequent  publication  in  dealing 
with  current  affairs,  and  in  its  letters  from  graduates  offers 
a forum  for  the  profitable  discussion  of  subjects  of  interest 
to  the  alumni.  As  the  official  organ  of  the  Alumni  Associa- 
tion, it  can  always  be  relied  upon  for  accurate  information. 
Our  classmate,  John  D.  Merrill,  has  long  been  its  associate 
editor.  The  last  and  most  recently  established  college  organ 
is  the  Harvard  University  Gazette , published  weekly.  It  con- 
tains the  calendar  of  public  lectures  and  meetings  for  the 
week,  official  information  in  regard  to  appointments,  awards 
of  prizes,  votes  of  the  Corporation,  Overseers,  and  Faculty, 
and  paragraphs  in  regard  to  work  in  progress  in  the  several 
departments.  Once  a month  it  contains  a list  of  the  pub- 
lications of  officers  of  the  College.  Let  every  ’89  man  take 
and  read  at  least  two  of  the  above  publications  and  it  will 
be  unnecessary  for  the  present  writer  to  try  again  to  describe 
the  “changes  at  Harvard  in  twenty-five  years” ; each  man  will 
know  all  there  is  to  know  about  the  growth  and  progress  of 
the  University  from  1914  to  1939, 

Secretary's  Note.  The  above  summary  was  prepared  by  Potter 
especially  for  this  Report,  at  the  request  of  the  Class  Secretary. 


APRIL  22,  1914. 


12  105625831 


